What can we do to stop war-mongering in a recession?

[z107]

Well considering the UN are about to publish a report that says Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapon, she might have a point. No-one should have nuclear weapons but if they have to exist I prefer that they remain in the hands of Countries like the US and Israel than with Iran. This isn't another Iraq situation. Iran has explicitly stated that they want to wipe Israel off the map. Do you really want nuclear weapons in their hands?

You would rather the USA had nukes? Are you serious?
The USA are the only country to have actually used nuclear weapons in war.

Either every country should have them, or no country.

 

[Sunny]

You would rather the USA had nukes? Are you serious?
The USA are the only country to have actually used nuclear weapons in war.

Either every country should have them, or no country.

Of course I am serious. And the idea that every country should have them is idiotic. I wish they had never been invented but you can't uninvent something so a country like the US is not going to give up nuclear capability while there are are plenty of terrorist states who wouldn't think twice about lauching a nuclear attack against them. Do you really think Germany or Japan would not have launched at that time.

They didn't use nuclear weapons in Vietnam, Korea, Afganistan and two gulf wars when some crazy regimes wouldn't have thought twice. At the end of the day, they never have to risk the life of a US soldier if they choose but they do. Are you saying Iran would do the same? Or Syria?

 

[Purple]

You would rather the USA had nukes? Are you serious?
The USA are the only country to have actually used nuclear weapons in war. [/QUOTE] Do you know the first thing about the context in which they were used? Do you have any idea how many American and Japanese lives were saved by using them?

Either every country should have them, or no country.

That’s a really silly thing to say.

 

[Chris]

Well considering the UN are about to publish a report that says Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapon, she might have a point. No-one should have nuclear weapons but if they have to exist I prefer that they remain in the hands of Countries like the US and Israel than with Iran. This isn't another Iraq situation. Iran has explicitly stated that they want to wipe Israel off the map. Do you really want nuclear weapons in their hands?

While I would rather not see more countries with nuclear weapons I think that further isolating Iran and increasing implicit threats about war are only going to make things worse and encourage Iranian leadership to go down that road.
Even if Iran was on a quest to build a nuclear weapon it would not have the capability of delivering it, as the country has no inter-continental missiles. But even if they found a way to detonate a nuclear weapon in Israel, why on earth would they do so? Any such act would result in the UK, France, Israel and the US completely wiping out Iran. The USSR with all its nuclear capability did not hit the trigger button precisely because of the counter threat. There is no reasonable argument that Iran would not consider the consequences of such an action.

There are also a lot of questions open around the translation of the "wipe Israel off the map" quote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel#Translation_controversy). An Iraqi friend of mine, who is fluent in Arabic and Persian did tell me a few years ago that Ahmedinejad was misquoted/mistranslated.

 

[oldnick]

Sunny - TMcGibney never claimed that he had seen a protest where they are calling for Israel to be wiped off the map, so perhaps you misquoted him.

He did say that a lot of Irish seem to want this. And there is no doubt that so many Irish go into a vitriolic frenzy when discussing Israel that ,yes, it does seem that many do want an end to Israel.

And you both tend to agree on most of what you said.

Anyway...
The Irish do seem a bit odd about the Israeli thing...

Anyone can condemn the arrogant, bullying attitude of the increasingly fanatic right-wing Israeli government and their constant desire for Lebensraum and the consequent Drang nach Osten into the West Bank. All we need now is a belief that they are the master race ,or, er, the chosen people.

But then one looks at the horrid, brutal, primitive regimes that infest so much of the African,Arab and Asian world. One sees how they supress their own people, whether dissidents, ethnic or religious minorities, gays,women-you name it.

Is it better/safer to be openly gay in Israel or any number of African states?
Openly Bahai in israel or Iran?
Openly Christian in Afghanistan or Israel?
And above all, is it better/safer to be a citizen of Israeli who opposes the government or a citizen of - you name the state - who opposes the government of that country.

The list goes on until one wonders whether it is even better/safer to be an Arab Moslem in Israel rather than in many other Moslem states.

So, this never ending and completly one-sided attack on Israel by "human rights"activists does give rise to the belief that there are some Irish who seem to want the end of Israel, regardless what "the other side" does.

 

[Sunny]

Post in error

 

[Purple]

Superb post oldnick, agree 100%

 

[johnwilliams]

heard a story recently that during the iran iraq war, the iranians used orphaned children for clearing minefields ,sending them across the minefields in lines to walk on and detonate mines ,was this true

 

[Purple]

heard a story recently that during the iran iraq war, the iranians used orphaned children for clearing minefields ,sending them across the minefields in lines to walk on and detonate mines ,was this true

A Google search throws up

There were certainly children used on the front lines by Iran during the war and people did walk across minefields but I’ve yet to see proof that it was state/government policy to use thousands of children to clear minefields.