WWIII: Making nice? Nah!
AP reports:
"Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday dismissed talk of a U.S. or Israeli attack against his country, calling the prospect of another war in the Middle East 'craziness.'
[Iranian Foreign Minister] Manouchehr Mottaki said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that he does not believe Israel or the United States would act while the U.S. economy is suffering and the United States is bogged down in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
'We do not foresee such a possibility at the moment. The Israeli government is facing a political breakdown within itself and within the region, so we do not foresee such a possibility for that regime to resort to such craziness,' he said. 'The United States, too, is not in a position where it can engage in, take another risk in the region.'"
Hmmm . . . craziness, huh? Well, working for Ahmadinejad I'd guess he'd know all about craziness first hand. Anyway, one thing Mottaki doesn't seem to be taking into account is that domestic political problems or economic upheavals can be quickly pushed to the back burner by a convienent war.
At his big press conference today in the Rose Garden, supossedly also making conciliatory sounds, W. told reporters: "I have always said that all options are on table, but the first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically." [Sounds real conciliatory, right?]
The NYT reports Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the JCS, seemed to agree with Mottaki's appraisal of the overstretched position of the US these days. Just after Bush's Rose Garden press conference, Mullen kept on the Pentagon's cooler heads should prevail message saying a war with Iran would be "extremely stressful." Of course, he said, "Just about every move in that part of the world is a high-risk move."
You bet.
Interestingly, the NYT reports Mottaki, speaking at the UN in New York, "refused to repeat the usual Iranian statement that it would never give up its right to uranium enrichment."
An opening perhaps? Everyone -- the Iranians and the Pentagon anyway -- are sounding very reasonable all of a sudden.
Obviously, this means WAR!
"Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday dismissed talk of a U.S. or Israeli attack against his country, calling the prospect of another war in the Middle East 'craziness.'
[Iranian Foreign Minister] Manouchehr Mottaki said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that he does not believe Israel or the United States would act while the U.S. economy is suffering and the United States is bogged down in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
'We do not foresee such a possibility at the moment. The Israeli government is facing a political breakdown within itself and within the region, so we do not foresee such a possibility for that regime to resort to such craziness,' he said. 'The United States, too, is not in a position where it can engage in, take another risk in the region.'"
Hmmm . . . craziness, huh? Well, working for Ahmadinejad I'd guess he'd know all about craziness first hand. Anyway, one thing Mottaki doesn't seem to be taking into account is that domestic political problems or economic upheavals can be quickly pushed to the back burner by a convienent war.
At his big press conference today in the Rose Garden, supossedly also making conciliatory sounds, W. told reporters: "I have always said that all options are on table, but the first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically." [Sounds real conciliatory, right?]
The NYT reports Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the JCS, seemed to agree with Mottaki's appraisal of the overstretched position of the US these days. Just after Bush's Rose Garden press conference, Mullen kept on the Pentagon's cooler heads should prevail message saying a war with Iran would be "extremely stressful." Of course, he said, "Just about every move in that part of the world is a high-risk move."
You bet.
Interestingly, the NYT reports Mottaki, speaking at the UN in New York, "refused to repeat the usual Iranian statement that it would never give up its right to uranium enrichment."
An opening perhaps? Everyone -- the Iranians and the Pentagon anyway -- are sounding very reasonable all of a sudden.
Obviously, this means WAR!
Labels: Admiral Mike Mullen, George Bush, Mottaki, war with Iran
posted by William Duane at 3:37 PM
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