All the more reason to get Bush and his fellow war criminals on trial and safely hung before the end of the year.

Since Oz doesn't have a death penalty we should use the CIAs marvellous rendition program to fly our war criminals (Howard, Downer, Ruddock & Costello, in hoods & shackles) to Texas where they are quite happy to execute the mentally retarded.

I see that the claim now is that Israel attacked a "nuclear facility" or something "nuclear related". With every passing day we get something new on the airstrike but one big thing out of all this is Robert Gates refusing to distance himself from the nonsense been spread on Syria. Both Robert Gates and Condi Rice right to the end, during Bush the Elder, thought that Gorby was pulling a trick to deceive the West. Rice was supposed to be an expert on the Soviet Union. They are not moderates.

Hands up those who feel impotent as this maddness goes around us...

Whats missing for us the common is the same facts the powers above us have...on which they base their actions in our name...'powers above'?the oranized force that arranges, organizes and acts is the government of each country...who they send is us the common people...while they sit in their offices...

Now Iraq...no wmd...but military action...and Iraqi's worse...and their oil wells in corporate control...and most likely rapid-extraction of the limited oil...and when mostly mud left...there is a mass pull out with same sell-able image to us the common to keep us talking more...while the act/benefit done and over...and accountability avoided...time to safely count the green stuff made...

no mention of destruction/damage...remember the 'shock and awe' period arround baghdad was pepered with explosions...republican guards were mobilized from desert to the city...hundred thousand plus...wiped out trying to protect their families as final defense...there was no need...the desert was open and left for coalition ie majority of country with oil fields...

Hence arises the ultimate question...have vested interests taken over the governments of the western world...and now work as an organized network...aiming to eliminate governments still in peoples control...eg Iran...hmmm...

Now Iran is in the cross-hairs...they should forget about nuclear...and focus on getting state-of art-monitoring equipment...awacs constantly criss-crossing the borders...that can pick up a seagull flying over the waves...and precision weapons capable of bringdown anything flying...yep...if there is going to be invasion...it will be face to face combat...ie if they learnt anything from Iraq strategy...

Sam

Paul.L.- you have something a bit backwards.

It wasn't American pressure on Korea that made them back down on their nuclear programme, it was Korean pressure on America (via Japan) that made them honour a previous agreement that they reneged on.

The influence of Israeli interests may motivate the Americans in some way when the time comes.

It was US support of the Shah that led to the rise of militant Islam in the Middle East in the first place so the words "chickens", "home" and "roost" have a strange resonance here.

Also, the stategic importance of establishing bases in the region is as much related (if not more) to the importance of the Caspian Oilfields as the Arab ones.

Finally, sometimes it's more fun to be from the loony-left than from the rabid-right because you don't have to keep defending the indefensible.

Rache,

If it makes you feel better to pretend I’m from the rabid right be my guest. Whilst it isn’t true, it certainly doesn’t concern me.

If you are defending North Korea, you truly are defending the indefensible. In its history North Korea could never claim to have taken an honest approach to negotiation. They NEVER keep the agreements that they make, squeezing the maximum gain they can from appearing to cooperate and then reverting back to their hostile stance. They are led by a true Madman, who does not face elections and expects to be worshipped as a GOD. Somewhere close to 10% of the population are in forced labour camps across the country. The whole extended family of a person considered a subversive are sent to prison with him/her.

The growing trend among the left to blame everything that goes wrong in this world on the US is an intellectually lazy exercise which appeals to many people's hatred of the Western democracies.

Militant Islam has roots much further back than Americas support for the Shah of Iran. The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928 with the credo “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”

For an good analysis of militant Islam, see http://www.hadassah.org/education/content/HotTopics/Terror/islam.htm

Sam said

Talking in sound bites might seem impressive to the intellectually challenged on OLO. But for the rest of us you might like to speak in whole sentences and provide some evidence for your paranoia.

BushBred,

Your multipolar world would be ideal were it not for the fact that all the other poles are dictatorships. Would you be happy to have China and Russia dictate our foreign policy? Why should we allow non democratic countries to have this power over us? The only interest they have in a multipolar world is as a step up on their way to global dominance

Peace with Iran needs to be on our terms. Militant Islam does not need any more successes.

To Pericles –
Thanks mate, you were so right with your reasoning that what I was trying to get across was to bring in strong neutral players like Russia and China to prevent a catastrophy which will surely happen if Iran is attacked.
The capture of Iran would be no walkover, as already proven when Iran was attacked by Iraq in 1981 with American backing - Iran finally won after eight years despite enormous casualties.

There are also rumours that Iran already has nuclear warheads to fit her long-range rockets anyhow, purchased from outside.

The main thing in the Middle East right now is to prevent major war which will almost surely be nuclear.

Here Pericles gives a line on outside players - “Becomes quite a fun game actually, politics mixed up with economics, but not one that can result in a war.”

As a historian it gives one reminder of the Concert of Europe when Bismarck, who after winning decisive local battles to unite the Germanic provinces, stood up to France which was threatening Germany over Alsace Lorraine. It proved a chance for Germany to test out its new long-range artillery, as the great novelist Emil Zola points out, proving their guns all the way to Paris.

It was when Bismarck, showed proof of his Realpolitik, the commonsense to know when to take over or just to give warning.

Thus it was in 1873 when Bismarck had his Germans withdraw from Paris after warning the French to watch their step or be taken over.

Bismarck died in 1908, and it is said by historians that if Bismarck had been alive in 1914, WW1 would never have begun.

It is so interesting that Bismarck never seemed out to capture the hearts and minds of other nations, unlike our Americans who seemed always out to push the American Way, with little Israel well sheltered under the Stars and Stripes.

As a female Iranian judge remarked earlier - we will eventually find our own democracy thank you very much, Mr Bush.

Cheers, BB - WA