Israel thinking alot about Iran?

[Martin]

There has to be some serious chess match playing going on here behind the scenes. Between the good and the bad.

Hezbollah was created from Iran decades ago. Iran and Syria are funding Hezbollah.. Mostly Iran though I believe. Just today Hezbollah says if you attack Beirut again, we will use long range missiles to attack Tel Aviv. Those long range missiles come from Iran.. Alot of the missiles and weaponry for Hezbollah are coming from Iran... If Hezbollah attacks Tel Aviv does Israel attack Iran? Did Iran trigger this war and want it to happen by telling Hezbollah to increase attacks on Israel? Using Hezbollah fighters so that Israel cant officially link Iran to it all. Or did Israel deliberately want to escalate this war? So many unanswered questions..The plot thickens...

[DansDarkSide]

Right now I think if Israel is attacked by any thing that comes out of Iran it just give the US a chance to enter the war, and I dont think Iran want the US to come into this mess. But if the US dose come into the war quick enough it will not give Iran the chance to build its nuclear weapons program up. Which would end up saving all of our lives in the future.

[Martin]

Originally Posted by Delta

Right now I think if Israel is attacked by any thing that comes out of Iran it just give the US a chance to enter the war, and I dont think Iran want the US to come into this mess. But if the US dose come into the war quick enough it will not give Iran the chance to build its nuclear weapons program up. Which would end up saving all of our lives in the future.

Good point..I dont know how we'll be able to afford a new war though..Iraq alone is going to take forever to pay off...and manpower? a draft? Its very interesting and I wonder what bush is thinking now. Do they like you say give us a reason to enter the war if Israel attacked Iran.. How many allies does Israel have....just us right? hmm... Alot of chess playing going on now internally...I bet.

Iran today says $200 a barrel of oil is possible -
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsar...src=rss&rpc=22

Their certainly not afraid to speak out.

[DansDarkSide]

Well for the oil I think if we can hold off this war for a year or however long it takes us to start pumping our own oil we will be good. Also the way the middle east is right now I think that we could turn this into a cash cow and start selling our oil.

http://www.stansberryonline.com/OIL/...scode=XOILG804

And I also think that if we enter the war, England is bound to enter on our side.

And then again people tell me I think too much.

[Martin]

Originally Posted by Delta

http://www.stansberryonline.com/OIL/...scode=XOILG804

I saw that site a couple days ago and cant tell if its a bunch of bullcrap or not. I mean if this was possible, It would be on every news channel.. Such a simple resolution to our gas price crisis.

[RadioactiveMan]

Even if there is that much oil there, it's not necessarily as easy to extract as it is in the Mid East. In Alberta, there is a lot of oil. I heard that it has more than Saudi Arabia, but that's not necessarily accurate. The problem is that Alberta's oil is in the sand which makes it far harder to extract than it is in the Middle East.

If you're looking for a job, towns near the oil sands have plenty of them available. People often get hired the day that they arrive in the towns. I saw that on the Rick Mercer Report.:)

Israel not the only one thinking a lot about Iran, Saudi's worried too...

Growing Iranian Regional Influence Worries Saudi Arabia
23 February 2007 - Before the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq had been something of a counterweight to Iranian power in the Middle East. Now with Saddam gone, Iranian political influence has been expanding, not just in Iraq, but in the region.

Empowering Iran was not one of aims of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, analysts say, it has become one of its unintended consequences. In an interview with a pro-Saudi group, Flynt Leverett, former senior director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, said it has been especially worrisome for Saudi Arabia.

"I think that the Iraq war has been almost disastrous from a Saudi perspective," he said. "It has completely upset the balance of power in the Gulf, enabled Iran's rise, created a dynamic in post-Saddam Iraq where the most powerful political forces are Islamist Shia with ties to Iran." Chas Freeman, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, says Iran's growing influence is not just among the Shi'ite factions in Iraq, but extends to other pressure points in the region.

He said, "Friends of Iran are now in power in Baghdad, Hezbollah has become the dominant political force in Lebanon, and Western attempts to isolate Hamas and the government it runs in Palestine have forced that government and Hamas into the arms of the Iranians." "So on every level, Iran has seen its influence in the region enhanced. And this is naturally disturbing to other countries in the region, which see it as producing a serious imbalance in power," he added.

More http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-02-23-voa56.cfm

[waltky]

U.S. and Israel thinking a lot about Iran...

Israel not opposed to arms deal
July 30, 2007 - In a significant departure from past Israeli policy, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert posed no objections yesterday to a new US plan to sell state-of-the-art weaponry to Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states, saying Iran was the common enemy.

"We understand the need of the United States to support the Arab moderate states and there is a need for a united front between the US and us regarding Iran," Olmert told a weekly Cabinet meeting. Still, the proposed arms deal - which would include advanced weaponry and air systems that would greatly enhance the striking ability of Saudi warplanes - set off alarms on the Israeli right, with one prominent politician saying he feared that Saudi Arabia, although not belligerent at present, could be taken over by extremists.

The proposed package comes with a sweetener for Israel: a 25 percent rise in US military aid, from an annual $2.4 billion at present to $3 billion a year, guaranteed for 10 years, Olmert and officials in Washington said. Senior administration officials said Friday that President George W. Bush would seek Congressional approval for additional military aid to both Israel and Egypt, which currently gets $1.3 billion annually.

The officials said that before leaving on a Mideast tour today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would announce those proposals, along with the plan to sell $5 billion or more in sophisticated weaponry to Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf states. The aid packages represent long-standing US commitments to Israel, its principal ally in the region, and to moderate, secular Egypt. At the same time, the US is seeking to strengthen other moderate Mideast allies, largely as a counterweight to Iran's growing influence in the region.

More People's Daily Online - Israel not opposed to arms deal

See also:

US agrees $30bn defence aid deal with Israel
30 July 2007 - ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the United States has agreed a 25% increase in its military and defence aid to Israel, to $30 billion (€21.9bn) in the next 10 years.

“In my last meeting with the president of the United States, we agreed that the aid would stand at $30bn over the next 10 years, meaning over $3bn a year, starting next year,” he said yesterday at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting. “This is an increase of over 25% in the military and defence aid of the United States to Israel,” he added.

Olmert described the new package as a considerable improvement and a very important element for the security of Israel. Current US defence aid to Israel stands at $2.4bn a year. A senior US defence official said on Saturday that Washington is readying a major arms package for Saudi Arabia with an eye to countering the changing threat from Tehran, Israel’s arch foe.

The Pentagon provided no details on the arms package, which will reportedly total $20bn over the next decade. But it will include new weapons for the United Arab Emirates, and military and economic support to Egypt, officials said. The deal is intended to strengthen US allies in the Middle East and counter the perceived threat from Iran, whose nuclear activities have provoked major concern in Israel and the United States.

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[waltky]

Looks like Russia thinking a lot about Iran too...

Russia Reported To Be Selling Iran Arms, As U.S. Announces Plans To Sell Weapons To Saudi Arabia
July 30, 2007 - Israeli officials say it is looking into reports that Russia and Iran have entered into an arms deal agreement that would supply Tehran with 250 advanced long-range Sukhoi-30 fighter jets in exchange for billions of dollars.

The fighter jets would be an improvement over Iran's existing aerial capabilities. In addition to those jets, Tehran is also reported to be buying Sukhoi-compatible fuel tankers, which are designed to further extend the range of the jets.

The latest weapons deal between Tehran and Moscow is not the first time the two countries have done business. Russia was recently criticized over its decision to sell Iran advanced anti-aircraft systems designed to protect Tehran's nuclear facilities. However, Russia dismisses the criticism, saying it is allowed to sell arms to Iran used for "defensive purposes."

This recent arms agreement between Russia and Iran comes as Washington announced its own billion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, reportedly worth around $20 billion over the next ten years.

AHN | Russia Reported To Be Selling Iran Arms, As U.S. Announces Plans To Sell Weapons To Saudi Arabia | July 30, 2007

[waltky]

This is not Khamenei's first time to make such kind of statements...

Iranian leaders say no intention to make atomic weapons
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran had no nuclear bombs and would not produce it.

Iranian top leaders said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic had no nuclear bombs and would not produce it, but vowed to press on the disputed nuclear program. In a meeting with the commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told them "Iranian nation does not have atomic bomb and has no intention to gain access to such a weapon either."

"Dignity of the Iranian nation emanates from belief in religious commands and good deeds and clarified prospects," he added. This is not Khamenei's first time to make such kind of statements. In the past years when Iran's relations with the West escalated due to the nuclear issue, the leaders reiterated it.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that the nuclear program of his country would not be negotiable with anyone, according to a report by the official IRNA news agency. "Iranian nation is logical and could have dialogue with, however, they will not negotiate about its rights with anyone," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. "One or two countries in the world do not recognize the reality and they believe they could force Iran to retreat, but enemies of these countries must understand Iran would never back off," he added.

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