Here's what our esteemed new Sec of Defence had to say about Iran (from
a recent transcript:
"The Iranians clearly believe that we're tied down in Iraq; that they have the initiative, that they are in a position to press us in many ways. They are doing nothing to be constructive in Iraq at this point. In addition, they have supported Hezbollah's efforts to create a new conflict in Lebanon and so the Iranians are acting in a very negative way in many respects. My view is that when the Iranians are prepared to play a constructive role in dealing with some of these problems, then there might be opportunities for engagement. Secretary Rice already has said that she would sit down any time, any place with her counterpart from Iran if they would commit not to enrich uranium.
So the opportunity is there for engagement, but I would say that the initiative needs to rest with the Iranians and we are simply trying to communicate to the region that we're going to be there for a long time."
Ok, Mr. Gates. Some questions for you. Please respond. The Iranians are in a position to press "us" (I assume you mean the government of the USA, or do you mean the people of the USA, or do you mean you and your family, or do you mean you and your co-workers? -- come to think of it, what
do you mean by "us"? Is "us" a short way of saying USA?) in many respects. Let's see, "many" implies more than one -- so you've gotten away with that by listing TWO "respects" in which Iran is pressing "us".
So what, exactly, does playing a constructive role in Iraq entail? Or is it more to the point to say that Iran is playing a destructive role in Iraq? Maybe I could buy that if you could show a direct connection between the trouble in Iraq and citizens/government employees of Iran. And, if I may, play the "hypocrite" card, who are citizens/government employees of the USA supporting in destructive roles around the world, hmmmm? Allright -- so Iran is causing us trouble in Iraq and is therefore "pressing" us.
Hezbollah has been a thorn in the side of the middle east for years, or so I've come to understand. Didn't I read somewhere that it was even supported by the USA government at some point in the past? Amazing how, instead of directing "our" (I put that in quotes because I really mean the USA government) efforts at directing our activity at Hezbollah, we go after the supporters of Hezbollah. Kinda like knocking off the family of someone you want to "get" instead of knocking off the person you're really after.
Get real -- all you're doing (and most likely doing it well) is provoking a continuing escalation of hostilities. Right now, it's all just words. What exactly are words in the true physical sense? Words are a superposition of amplitudes and frequencies that are audible by the human ear. These "sounds" are picked up by the human ear and electrically transferred to the human brain. A series of algorithms have been written to "interpret" these electronic impulses and give them "meaning" to the human.
Need I tell you what's infinitely worse than words? Just in case you don't know -- nuclear bombs! These devices make quite a big mess -- as opposed to words that just spread out geometrically into the universe.
