WORLD at WAR, Official 2012 Thread (TO BE CONTINUED) Israel, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, PA, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, China, U.S.

So, I guess now the big question is...

If You Were Israel What Would You Do?

So, I guess now the big question is...

If You Were Israel What Would You Do?

Good to see you back Gerry -

It seems to me that they have two choices:

1) brush up on their Arabic/ Aramaic/ Farsi/ etc and develop efficiency in digging large graves

2) cut the ties with "quasi-friends" that seem to crate more trouble than they settle, and take on the neighborhood bully(ies) alone.

If you could label those as "choices"

When you are forced to select from two evils, you have no choice but to choose evil. I'm seeing a surgical strike to at best, delay the inevitable. It may however give them enough time to continue the fight in ways that don't involve direct combat. I'm thinking continued cyber attacks as well as creating hate and discontent amongst the younger generation in Iran. Political change can be a very powerful modifier. Either way, Israel is not in an enviable position.

I too foresee some additional covert action, but not just against Iran directly but the Hezbollah too. Just like last December. Now that Obama is through his election, Israel does not have its hands tied. Whether warning signs indicate reasons for Israel to out-right attack earlier are anyone's guess without Mossad and/or CIA sources. Of itnerest though, Bibi knows that Obama will work against him in the coming election, thus he may keep his own hands tied for the moment, but issue a threat to Obama that if he does get invovled in israeli politics, then it becomes a no holds barred regional war immediately!

MM, Gerry, Steve and others I honestly still see nothing that would lead me to believe that an attack is coming now or at anytime in the near future, what I think has a larger chance of happening is the enemies of America and Israel striking first and hitting us hard, how hard I guess depends on how it goes down. O is a reactionary president not a pre emptive one. Even if America burns he may still do nothing about it. Bibi I'm sad to say is all words as far as I'm concerned, words don't stop rockets or suicide bombers unfortunately, and it doesn't stop Iran more imporantly.

That's my two cents I must admit I am biased due to the results of the election.

I am seeing Israel preparing for a retaliatory strike. I don't think they are preparing for a first strike because despite how crazy we think their enemies are, none of them are crazy enough to launch a major first strike on Israel. I also don't believe that we, the USA could be hit hard enough to cause us to "burn". We withstood 9/11 with little disruption to the rest of the country when you look at the big picture. We could withstand much more and still come out on top. Yup, Obama is going to continue to do damage to the US and it's economy...will we survive it?, yup, we will and short of a bunch of republicans rioting in the streets (the picture in my mind is somewhat comical) we are simply going to have to adapt and overcome, fail to adapt or leave...I don't see many other alternatives and I know what my choice is.

Lets see if i understand correctly, people who are either gay, or choose to get an abortion are contributing to America's demise? Our views sure differ. I for one am relieved to see Barry win. In my opinion, he is far less prone to lobbing nukes unjustly.

Gerry,

1. We have heard of two high level Generals that have been "recalled". How deep has this gone? Or, did it stop with these two and (my opinion) was the purpose to send a message to all high level commanders?

2. Could you explain and do you expect, "I also don't believe that we, the USA could be hit hard enough to cause us to "burn". Is burn defined as turned into a "parking lot" or "back to the stone age"?

3. The military can make it easy for a president or hard for a president and, I would think, right up to not following, to the letter, his commands. Your opinion, were are we?

Thanks

The US Ambassador to Turkey said on Wednesday that US President Barack Obama who was re-elected on Tuesday for second term would make his first foreign visit to Turkey. . .

Summary of Obama's foreign policy challenges over the coming SIX MONTHS (Yikes)

Syria - Should the United States press for a U.N. mandate to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war? Should the United States lead a coalition (from in front or from behind) on Syria with or without a U.N. mandate? Given declining leverage in the region, how can the United States mitigate the damage of the spiraling sectarian warfare in the Middle East?

Mali - How involved should the United States be in an intervention in Mali?

Libya - Beyond the obvious steps of hunting and bringing to justice the terrorists who carried out the Benghazi attack, how should the United States deal with a Libya that is spiraling towards chaos?

Iran - What is the worst deal we can live with on the Iranian nuclear program? Should we surrender redlines regarding enrichment that all Administrations have insisted on? What should we do if that "worst deal" is still not good enough to satisfy the Iranians? Is a military strike that only delays an Iranian nuclear program worse than learning to live with a nuclear Iran?

Pakistan & Egypt - How should the United States manage relations with partners like Pakistan and Egypt, who are too dangerous to fail and apparently too frail to ensure our interests and values?

Europe - What, if anything, can and should the United States do if the eurozone inches towards a collapse?

China - If China's rocky leadership transition produces spikes in hyper-nationalism and adventurism, can we simultaneously reassure our allies and partners in Asia without triggering escalation spirals?

[link to shadow.foreignpolicy.com]

Darby,

You mentioned in your post earlier.. before the edit .. that gaddafi was claimed to be alive in not so well in cuba. Is that what was rrally said? If so thats interesting. Very interesting. Its clear there are some major cover ups going on in libya, you seem to be ahead of thr game on all of this. Care to talk aboit libya on this slow news day?

[link to security.blogs.cnn.com]

02:00 PM ET
FIRST ON CNN: Iranian jets fire on U.S. drone

By Barbara Starr

Two Iranian Su-25 fighter jets fired on an unarmed U.S. Air Force Predator drone in the Persian Gulf on November 1, the Pentagon disclosed on Thursday.

The incident, reported first by CNN, raised fresh concerns within the Obama administration about Iranian military aggression in crucial Gulf oil shipping lanes.

The drone was on routine maritime surveillance in international airspace east of Kuwait, 16 miles off the coast of Iran, U.S. officials said. The Predator was not hit.

Also: U.S. adds to Iran sanctions

"Our aircraft was never in Iranian airspace. It was always flying in international air space. The recognized limit is 12 nautical miles off the coast and we never entered the 12 nautical mile limit," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in responding to questions from reporters after CNN reported the incident.

Little said the United States believed this was the first time an unmanned aircraft was shot at by the Iranians in international waters over the Gulf. In December of 2011, a U.S. surveillance drone crashed in eastern Iran. Iranians claimed to have shot it down, and created a toy model of the drone to celebrate its capture.

Little stopped short of calling the incident an act of war although the Pentagon was concerned.

Also: Obama faces world of challenges in second terms

Two U.S. officials explained the jets were part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps force, which has been more confrontational than regular Iranian military forces.

At least two bursts of gunfire came from the Su-25s' cannons. The drone started to move away but the Iranian aircraft chased it, doing aerial loops around it before breaking away and returning to Iran.

The Obama administration did not disclose the incident before the presidential election, but three senior officials confirmed the details to CNN on Thursday. They declined to be identified because of sensitive intelligence matters surrounding the matter.

The drone's still and video cameras captured the incident showing two Su-25s approaching the Predator and firing onboard guns.

The Iranian pilots continued to fire shots that went beneath the Predator but were never successful in hitting it, according to the officials.

U.S. military intelligence analysts are still not sure if the Iranian pilots simply were unable to hit the drone due to lack of combat skill, or whether they deliberately were missing and had no intention of bringing it down.

But as one of the officials said, "it doesn't matter, they fired on us."

Nnn
Little said the United States has to assume Iran nwas trying to bring down the Predator.

The United States protested the incident but had not heard back from Iran.

Iran has, at other times, been confrontational in the region. In January,e .S. military and coast guard had close encounters with Iranian Navy vessels which approached at high speeds and exhibited provocative behavior

Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, declined to say whether his country knew about the incident before Pentagon officials