John Laesch running against Dennis Hastert ( comments on Iran )

[cal04]

I served our country as an intelligence analyst in the Middle East for most of my military career and I have a good understanding of Iran's ability to close the Straights of Hormuz and hamper the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.
I have presented several alternatives to nuclear war and I want to hear what the Kos community thinks. A recent article, The Iran Plan, published by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker reaffirmed my belief that the current administration is clueless about national security and how to fight terrorism. While serving as an intelligence analyst in the Middle East, I became the local expert on Iran's military and leadership structure. I departed the region in 1999, but Hersh's article leads me to believe that many of Iran's battle plans and nuclear ambitions have not changed.

Hersh's article outlines President Bush's intentions to execute a pre-emptive strike on Iran using nuclear weapons. The last time America was on the brink of nuclear war was during the Cuban missile crisis and we were fortunate enough to have a diplomatic president, John F. Kennedy at the helm of our country. America can be assured that Mr. Bush does not understand the complexities of terrorism and we should be very concerned that he is anywhere near the launch codes for a nuclear weapon.

Since Bush took office, he has proven that international diplomacy is his greatest weakness. The use of nuclear weapons by any nation would have an enormously destabilizing effect, because it is the last resort militarily. It basically says that the only way that remains for us to deal with this problem is to wipe our enemy off the face of the earth regardless of the consequences. If you think that we've got problems with the world's Muslim community now, just try dropping A-bombs on Iran and see what happens--it will make the war in Iraq look like a high school wrestling match without a coach.

Iran's state-sponsored terrorist group, Hezbollah, has sleeper cells and training camps throughout the world. Based on his past failures to predict the insurgency and growing disdain for a long-term United States presence in Iraq, I am confident that Bush has not thought through the outcomes of a conventional or nuclear war with Iran. I can tell you exactly what would happen if we were to strike Iran...

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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/15/211742/843

[Mythsaje]

1. He's right, of course...

This administration is as diplomatically inept as any this country has ever known. And bombing Iran, particularly with nukes, is an absolutely insane policy guaranteed to fire up the Islamic world and really screw all of us.

[ShortnFiery]

2. "really screw us all" can = "annihilation of the entire human species"

[Mythsaje]

3. Pretty much, yeah. n/t

[ShortnFiery]

4. Yes, just helping to add emphasis ... I can't believe this insanity n/t