John Foote + 1,135 JF August 7, 2018 On 7/31/2018 at 8:23 AM, Jan van Eck said: If the US Govt wanted to overthrow the Ayatollah, all it has to do is promise 50,000 student visas for the USA, instant basis, if they would toss the Ayatollah. You would have an instant revolution. Students would help, but it hasn’t changed government in Saudi Arabia. Persians I’ve met tend to be gracious and hard working. We seem to forget by everyone’s account Iran was weeks away from nukes before the deal. It wasn’t a great deal, but it was better than no deal, by a lot. If there is a single person absolutely to not trust for Middle East judgement, it’s Bolton, about the only one on the planet to think Bush43’s invasion helped. The USA needs to forget the regime change business. It rarely works and typically is often counterproductive. Talk to Americans who have been on the ground in Iran. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomasz + 1,608 August 7, 2018 Once small advice. Saudi Arabia is one of Arab Countries. If you really want to insult iranian citizen you should call him Arab. Shia islam and sunnis = something like catholic and protestants during era of religious wars in Europe. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Regan + 1,776 August 8, 2018 On 7/27/2018 at 8:56 PM, Jan van Eck said: I rather suspect that in the end, reason will NOT overcome. The Iranian leadership does not "get it;" it does not sink in that, despite their ideas of being sovereign and having "the same right to nuclear weapons as the USA," the Americans (and the rest of the West) does not agree. At some point those nuclear plants are going to be destroyed, and there is nothing the Iranians can do about it, other than to suck it up (and perhaps use proxies in some sort of guerrilla warfare against isolated US targets). I do not picture the Iranian military attempting to either stop such an attack or to strike out at the US Navy; doing so would be suicide for millions of Iranians, including every last scrap of the military. Here's the reality: there is one super-power, and that super-power can (and eventually will) do exactly as it pleases. The Ayatollahs go toe-to-toe with The Donald, and they are all dead. A harsh truth, to be sure, but the truth nonetheless. The war has already started all be it a proxy war, the sanctions alone on USD and Trading Metals is causing turmoil in Irans middle class which in turn leaves the country unstable. The religious hardline is losing face. Israel is doing a good job of throwing stones over the fence, this only stokes the fire. We are dealing with Religion primarily not economics. The economic situation which Trump is stoking is based on the bad relations caused by the overthrow of the Sha, yes it goes that far back. Remember Carter etc. The US dont forget especially against Protagonists which themselves have been funding proxy wars all over the middle east for a long time. Time to shut Iran up or the zealots that hide in political clothes. Boooyahhhhhh 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John Foote + 1,135 JF August 8, 2018 2 hours ago, James Regan said: based on the bad relations caused by the overthrow of the Sha, yes it goes that far back. A lot farther than that, try the 50s when the CIA put the Shah in charge, overthrowing the legitimate government. Shia-Sunni, they mostly got along for long time and the split starts the day Mohammed dies. Not a reformation thing like Martin Luther and protestant reforms. There are many Arab Shias. And there are groups besides basic Sunnis and Shias. Both Assad and Saddam Hussein were Alawites. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume Albasini + 851 August 8, 2018 This is not a religious war. It's a geopolitical confrontation opposing two regional powers for the domination of the Middle East. The sunni-shia opposition is only a card they are playing. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Regan + 1,776 August 10, 2018 On 8/8/2018 at 6:16 PM, Guillaume Albasini said: This is not a religious war. It's a geopolitical confrontation opposing two regional powers for the domination of the Middle East. The sunni-shia opposition is only a card they are playing. With total respect being agnostic I would beg to differ, how far back should we go, to the Knights Templars? The order, which was among the wealthiest and most powerful, became a favoured charity throughout christendom and grew rapidly in membership and power. They were prominent in Christian Finance. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades Non-combatant members of the order, who formed as much as 90% of the order's members,managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, developing innovative financial techniques that were an early form of banking building its own network of nearly 1,000 command postings and forts across Europe and the middle east, and arguably forming the world's first multinational Corps. Not much has changed religion most definitely has an affect on Geopolitical affairs. Unfortunate but reality... Written with total respect for all creeds 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaycee + 348 jc August 10, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, James Regan said: Not much has changed religion most definitely has an affect on Geopolitical affairs. Yup the two books that have caused the most wars in the history of mankind are the Koran and the bible. Religion has served its purpose and brought mankind civil structure time for the words of self serving unaccountable men being taken as the word of God is over. All religion should be removed and replaced by politicians who can be scutinized and changed if necessary, and I hate politicans! Edited August 10, 2018 by jaycee 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wellsliq@gmail.com + 1 WW August 11, 2018 More fake news. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites