Iran fired off the latest salvo in The Great Jawbone War yesterday, saying it might block the oil lanes in the Persian Gulf if attacked. Given the fact that the Strait of Hormuz, the only exit from the Gulf, is just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, and that Iran abuts the eastern side, this would appear to represent a realistic threat.
On previous occasions, Iran has said its response would include the launching of over 1,000 missiles within seconds of any attack as well as the dispatching of its fleet of hundreds of high-tech swift boats and submarines to attack the elements of the U.S. Fifth Fleet that would presumably be bottled up in the Gulf.
On the western side of the equation, President Bush has continued to threaten that "all options are on the table," and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was reported to have said, after meeting with Bush recently, that the president assured him Iran would be attacked before he, the president, left office.
Furthermore, Israel has conducted obvious preparations for war, both defensively and offensively, including a large aerial exercise earlier this month that was openly described as a dress rehearsal for an attack on Iran.
However, given the seriousness of the anticipated consequences of any attack, as well as the unintended risks that could potentially be involved, not to mention the obvious threat to our military personnel in the region, a sober analysis would have to conclude that the issue will remain just what it is now - The Great Jawbone War - and nothing more. Unfortunately, however, it's another of the many factors that have conspired to drive up the price of oil.
In Washington this week, Bush relented on his opposition to provide greater higher-education benefits for veterans and their families, but only after the Senate agreed to provide "unrestricted funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" through his term and beyond, as reported Friday by the L.A. Times.
Meanwhile, the Middle East has seen a resurgence in violence, recently from Lebanon to Afghanistan.
An event in the Bajur tribal region of Pakistan highlighted the frustrations of America's efforts to make headway in that nation. Despite the more than $10 billion in various aid packages that have been provided by U.S. taxpayers to the Pakistani government since 2001, the vast majority of citizens across Pakistan's countryside strongly support the militant organizations of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The Bajur incident involved the jubilation of a crowd of about 5,000, as Taliban militants slit the throats of two men accused of helping American forces near the Afghan border. Their severed heads were then paraded through what was described in press reports as a "frenzied crowd of onlookers."
In Iraq, a suicide bombing on Thursday in Anbar, which killed 25 people including three Marines and injured 100 others, may have been partly responsible for a decision by the U.S. military on Friday to postpone the planned transfer of responsibility for security of that area to the Iraqi government. The principal reason given, however was the forecast of a sandstorm.
The Department of Defense, last week, released the obituaries of 12 military personnel killed in Iraq, ranging in age from 20 to 48.
According to the web site www.icasualties.org, U.S. deaths in that country now stand at 4,113.
In Afghanistan, a Pentagon report indicated that the southern province of Helmand has become the most violent and narcotics-plagued region in the country by far. And General James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps expressed concern about an unacceptable level of stress for his ground forces should their tours have to be extended.
The Department of Defense released the obituaries of eight soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week, ranging in age from 19 to 41.
Total U.S. deaths in that nation were 462 as of June 21, according to the Pentagon.
The 20 obituaries released this past week revealed that 12 of the fallen heroes were killed by roadside bombs and that none of those were riding in the blast-resistant vehicles known as M-RAPS.
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Comments: 44
Kathryn Esplin-Oleski - I wanted to mention how pretty you look in your wedding dress. You remind me of a former step mother I had named Bobbi.
Thanks for making it clear that there's still dangerous work to be done in that part of the world.
Thanks for the information, appreciate it!
Aside from your idiotic comment about seeing our recruiters, do you not agree that we need to continue with our actions until there are stable democracies in place in Afghan and Iraq? Simple question.
Why would we go to war? Why not just take out their nuclear plants and call it a day? I'm pretty sure we could wrap that up in a day or two.
You really can't be that ignorant Don !
You know, I was going to comment back to you but, I understand it would only be an excersize of casting pearls before swine.
pretty sure we could wrap that up in a day or two.', said Don H.
That's the type of blind optimism that extended the War in Iraq.
Remember 'Mission Accomplished'?
I suppose the Iranians will embrace us with open arms for rescuing them from the evil Ahmadinejad.
Fairy tales.
I mean, in all honesty every since I was a child seeking to defend and look out after my divorced mother - when cops came to my house on several occasions in numbers imposing on my mother seeking to force their intentions on my mother and threatened my mother and me when I stood up to defend my mother - people have been telling me, "you can't fight City Hall." And, "you can't fight the government." Well, I have made a liar out of them before for such statements, and it appears it is time to do so again. This time it's going to be the big one. Hell has no fury, but for the furor.
In addition the Taliban are working hard in So Afghanistan where our Marines of the 24th MEU have successfully battled them away from the capital for weeks now. Unfortuately the 24th MEU has been held over their deployment end for 3 months so far and they want to come home. Cannot blame them one bit !!!
Furthermore Congress will not let our Special Ops guys go in and clean up the hit list so that is why this is going on and on. Special ops is ready to do this, what is wrong with Nanci that she and friends will not allow kill a few for the sake of all.
But then, that's your perogative.
The intelligence gathering of Larry, Curly and Mo. and the cartoon network would exceed that of any of the afore mentioned. Please. A long track record of failures and false information doesn't give me the warm fuzzyies.
Yes it would be fair and accurate to say all or at least most, but what does fairness and accuracy (facts/truth) have to do with justice? When it is a question of who has rights and freedom that are protected by the constitution the mobocracy has given complete control and undue respect to the opinions of the Dept.of Just Us.
Amhedinejad is just bogey man for the administration.. our policies & rhetoric were no different when he was in power.. so stop with these lies. First finish the war we r in before starting a new one.
Spread democracy in the middle east: Nope, not done.
Capture Osama bin Laden: Nope, not done.
Destroy Al Qaeda: Nope, not done.
Find and Destroy Weapons of Mass Destruction: Nope, not done.
Free the Iraqi People From a Tyrant: Well, the tyrant is gone but the people of Iraq have died by violence at a rate many times higher than during Saddam's reign, so it is hard to say they have benefitted from his removal.
Secure Oil For America and Allies: Oil production in Iraq remains lower than it was under sanctions imposed on Hussein's regime. Price of oil at all time high, price of gas at the pump at all time high, inflation and recession (depression?) on the way. Dubious benefit here.
Oil Prices and Profits at an all time high: Ahh. There it is. Oil companies with close family and business ties to the Bush family are making out like bandits.
Exactly like bandits. Highway robbers. Thieves. Pirates. Murderous brigands.
I wonder: how much do they project to steal through an attack on Iran and how many Iranians and Americans must die in order to achieve those windfall profits?
Collateral damage.
This real estate "crisis" is just another armed robbery. And for all of you out there supporting it, when it all hits the fan, and when you come climbing up from the bottomless pit and get just to the top edge and can't muster enough strenghth to pull yourself up over the edge, I'm going to be standing there looking at you, just before I turn my back and walk away.
You pointed out what Iran says will do while also mentioning the limitation factor. Most of their equipment/small ports etc is crammed onto a relatively short piece of beach front. The minute they sortie they too will become targets in a relatively small area. Sounds like simple noise to keep some nerves on edge.
You raise some good points, Charles, but it's been reported that their small boats, which number in the hundreds, can be launched from many points along their 1,500 miles coastline. It's also been reported that they can attain speeds of 100 MPH, that they have stealth capabilities, as do their subs, reportedly, and that both the boats and the subs can launch torpedoes that can go 200 MPH, reportedly.
Where's the truth? Who knows, Charles. Both sides lie through their teeth. The known fact is, however, that Iran has had several years (since we invaded countries on both sides of it) and plenty of money and willing suppliers to prepare for the unique type of conflict that would occur within the Persian Gulf.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mullen, warned that an Israeli airstrike would make the Middle East more unstable and would put too much stress on our military personnel, who are already stretched out in the two-front campaign we have now.
It's been reported that many of Bush's and McCain's advisers feel differently, however, and that they feel the window of opportunity to protect the security of Israel may be closing.
It may not alter the prospective picture, but Iran took a positive step this week to clarify once again that Ahmadinejad is not the ultimate authority in Iran, but that position goes to Ayatollah Ali khamenei. And one of the Ayatollah's advisers said "A compromise could be made using concerns common to Iran and other states."
How does a sandstorm thwart the ability of Iraqis to take over security of an area? Are they less accustomed to sandstorms than Americans?
It is sad how many inane comments and decisions are coming forth while Americans, allies, Iraqis, and insurgents are dying.