One bomb dropped every twenty minutes for the last 20 years - mostly on innocent people.
You can pontificate about the ‘evils’ of Iran all you want, but this is just a distraction from the true evil of the world today: the Coalition and its endless, racist intolerant wars against innocent people whose religious views do not conform to those who have the power to destroy all life wherever they decide to focus their attention.
Two minutes hate for Iran is enough to distract most people from what they should be focusing on - the dire evil result of ignoring our own, Western imperialism, and the negative effect it is having on sovereign states around the world. You can’t drop democracy bombs on everyone.
Sooner or later, those who have suffered for decades under the rubble will rise up - and if you want to position them as ‘evil Sharia terrorists’ in order to continue to justify more bomb-dropping, then YOU are the insane evil in the world that most needs to be addressed by the sane and sensible.
These Australians knew what they were getting into. More than likely, they are part of an operation to discredit Iran and gain sympathy in the West for more evil wars from the Coalition of the Willing partners - Australia, included. As we have see time and again, the people of the Coalition nations are easily led into heinous, illegal wars against totally innocent people, which they then choose to ignore - at their own peril.
Iran is not your enemy. Boeing, UTC, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, GE Eviation, Northrop, Raytheon … these are your true enemies. Without this turmoil in the Middle East and other “distant out of sight regions of the world that no Westerner cares about”, none of their share-holders would have the resources to pay their mortgage.
Open up a radio station in your own country anywhere in the middle east or Africa and spread hatred against the US and you’ll be assassinated by a drone strike. Right so. Enter a foreign country -a well known radical theocracy- and agitate against the religious leaders and get ten years. Scandal! Barbarism! Nuke them!
Bias anyone?
I don’t want war with Iran, that would be totally insane. I can promise you I’ll be among the first taking to the streets, should any development in that direction occur. But I won’t talk myself into believing it is a free, democratic society, either,
…or spring to attention and make assumptions out of thin air, to justify and cover every action of that regime
…or just assume that because a state built around clerical rule exists, it must be the will of the people
…or give the rulers of Iran credit for a turn in history that gave them the short straw in the development of WMDs. They’ve certainly proven that they are capable of war crimes, e.g. by making up in mass mobilization and indoctrination of children for what they lacked otherwise - an operation commanded btw (as I am confident you know) by Iran’s current head of state.
It doesn’t identify Iran as the final authority in Islam, instead it splits the authority between Iran and Saudi Arabia. As such the Iranians are going to see it as offensive.
Unfortunately, a war with Iran would not involve that kind of combat. Just bombing cities into oblivion. and that is pretty appealing to politicians like Bolton, for example. There are many of them out there. As we are moving into times of true military automation, it will be harder to use casualties on “our” side argument as a deterrent to crazy war game ideas.
Justify? Sorry; I don’t follow that logic.
Are you saying that Iran’s ‘theocratic dictatorship’ is a response to Western crimes?
Surprisingly enough, not everything in the world is about the Western nations. In this situation, we don’t matter.
Don’t like Iran the Iranian government? No, nor me.
Want to do something about it? Tough. It’s none of our business.
If anything needs to be fixed about the Middle East, the USA and UK (in particular) don’t have a role. Nor does Russia, for that matter; their post-war annexation of the north disqualifies them too.
Maybe it’s one for the UN, maybe spearheaded by a properly neutral party, which doesn’t have a history of colonialism (i.e. non-European).
But it is, because Iran wants to utterly annihilate Israel, who, for better or worse, are our friends, and we cannot let that happen under any circumstances, nor can Israel go it alone. Yes, Israel’s government has its evils. But the country, its people both Palestinians and Jews, need to be protected from the regional wrath.
Shia militants have also fought in Iraq and Syria, and neighboring Iraq has a large Shia minority.
Foreign militants don’t have to support the Iranian government to be motivated to fight against American invaders. How many people were fighting to reinstate Baathism after the US invasion of Iraq? We’d almost certainly see a lot of militants motivated to fight against a common enemy, hoping to put themselves in a position to take over after the invaders are driven off.
I’m very aware of Middle Eastern history; I’m saying we have no further relevance in the region. We’ve already ****ed up too much.
By the international community, perhaps, but not unilaterally by the USA (nor UK); I’m saying we have no productive role in being the figurehead of that effort.
You questioned how “crimes committed by Western nations” are linked (“justify”) to “a theocratic dictatorship”. It’s a non-sequitur.
That’s horseshit. Really. Sorry to be so blunt but the US assassinated the democratically-elected leader of Iran, to install the Shah. Before that, they were a secular, rather liberal (for Islam), relatively well-to-do nation that was quite friendly to the Western world, including the US. THEN we sold/gave nerve gas at fire-sale prices to Saddam, for use on the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war, as well as other material, logistical, and training aid. Remember the pics of Cheney with his arm around Saddam? That was immediately after the deal was concluded.
Gawrsh, why would they hate us, or at least our government?!?!
Yeah, tell us all about “dangerously irresponsible”, why don’t you? WE CO-OWN THE SINS OF IRAN OF TODAY, THAT SIMPLE.
Some of the reading you sorely lack:
Yes, our own actions have consequences. Yes, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Exactly so. I was a bit too pissed off to do too much in-depth link-digging, however, plus “OrangeTide” doesn’t seem to be the type to…er…read much . Thanks for the reminder!
While you have a point to a degree, you are completely ignoring the other factions blowing up and killing innocent civilians in various places as well.
There US for sure has sins to pay for, and you can even show where US actions made things worse in the long run. But if you think everything would be peaceful bliss today if they weren’t there, you’re either a dishonest shill for a certain narrative, or woefully ill informed.
Right… political prisoners are really just asking for it by not following the laws (which ever law that is, it’s undisclosed in this case. Sounds like a just, transparent legal system). Good to know. Hear that, China, you’re off the hook too.
Iraq has a Shia majority, in whose name Shia militants fight against Sunni jihadis.
Iran-backed Shia militants fight in Syria to defend the Assad regime, an ally of Iran.
That is why I said that jihadis would’t fight to save the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is an intrinsically Shia state where the head of state is required to be a Shia cleric.
Mossadegh was not killed, as you could have read in the Wikipedia article you linked to.
Mosaddegh was arrested, tried and convicted of treason by the Shah’s military court. On 21 December 1953, he was sentenced to three years in jail, then placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.
. Thanks for the reminder!