"We know that Iranian influence is here, even if we can't prove it."

[sabra]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070201-113342-8345r_page2.htm

<snip>

The Royal Navy's Commodore Keith Winstanley, Britain's senior naval commander in the region from Jordan to India and deputy commander of the U.S.-led coalition fleet in the Persian Gulf, said there has been no sign of an Iranian reaction in the Gulf to President Bush's decision to dispatch a second carrier strike group to the region, a move widely seen as a warning to Tehran.

"We are not seeing any change in Iranian behavior since the president's announcement," said Commodore Winstanley. "Much of what their naval forces do appears to be defensive in nature.
"If all you do is listen to the rhetoric of Ahmadinejad, you would think the Iranians are very forward-leading militarily, but it's not so. Our everyday interactions with them in the Gulf are actually extremely cordial."

But Maj. Chris Ormond-King, a spokesman for the British military deployment in Basra, southern Iraq's largest city, said Iranian meddling is palpable among the Shi'ite militias there, even if conclusive evidence is difficult to come by.

"We know that Iranian influence is here, even if we can't prove it. It's money, it's technical support, it's equipment. Our gut feeling is that, yes, there is Iranian influence here."

The major added, "It's like when you see a car going down the road. You may not be able to prove it's speeding, but when it gets from one place to another so quickly, you can tell."

[spanone]

1. They would take us to war on 'gut feeling'. No doubt.

[babylonsister]

2. Kinda like them WMDs, no? nt

[mtnester]

3. Guess what? I know there is life on other planets

I simply cannot prove it.

Apprently, none that are too intelligent here though.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. I have a gut feeling that the Brits are still issuing a grog ration to the troops.

I can't prove it, but when I hear about Brit Majors having a "gut feeling", you can tell.

[gratuitous]

5. Yee-ha, well that's good enough for me!

We're going to need about 500,000 troops to do Iran by my estimate. Somebody open a window.

[John Q. Citizen]

6. It won't be a ground invasion, it will be an aerial attack/navel bombardment.

[jobycom]

8. Or nukes.

Bush has wanted to use nukes since he took office. Don't forget his nuclear position paper, where his people concluded there were seven nations we might consider a first strike nuclear attack against. Iran was one.

Bush wants to go down in history. He is a neurotic, insecure child, and going down as the man who nuked the Middle East suits him just fine. In the circles where he is worshiped, he would be a hero for doing it.

[porphyrian]

7. Manipulation of others via faith in authority and Aristotelen essentialism.

People will believe this is true because it comes from an authority archetype, and they have faith in the authority archetype.

People will believe this is true because they believe things have a non-physical, untestable dimension, or essence.

Religions train and reinforce both faith and Aristotelean essentialism. "Body of Christ..."

[jobycom]

9. "Our gut feeling..." -The only thing people feel in their guts is crap. nt