Hezbollah night-vision gear manufactured in Britain

Been thinking about the original for some time &... well..so what?
Bet they have some shoes made in China too.

[Hippikos]

If there are any Zelzal-2s left intact in Lebanon (if there were any to begin with, and there's considerable dispute about that) they were probably what the cluster bombs were used on; anti-materiel/anti-armor is what they're best at. Assuming first that they did ever cross the border and second weren't destroyed by the IDF, they still aren't available to Hezbollah apparently because they're dual-keyed, and can only be launched on command from the Iranian crews (of whom there aren't any in Lebanon, right?). It's the most implausible "plausible deniability" I've ever seen...the old shell game again: Hezbollah "has" missles but can't launch them...but if they *are* launched Iran will blame Hezbollah.

You don't even believe when Iran admits itself? Usually you blame the Iranians for everything, this must be the mother of implausible plausible deniabilities...

Probably it'll never reach your with zionist propaganda infested mind, but Hezbollah does have a great deal of autonomy, just as Israel does not everything for the US.

It might occur to you, although I don't think you have ever thought of that, that the Zelzal2's (and there are more) will be used in case Israel has the disastrous idea of bombing Iran. In that case Hezbollah will use these missiles as retaliation. Iran and Hezbollah are allies, same like US and Israel. That's how the world goes around MaggieL, like in the days of the Cold War, when the USSR and the USA divided the world in blocks.

Yep, NKorea is working with Iran together. It is already for years. They were both used in the "Axis of Evil" speach of Junior. You can hardly expect that they will sit back and relax. Khatami/Khamenei have repeatedly offered to negotiate in 2002 and 2003, even to share important al-Qaeda information, but Bush, blinded by the "Mission Accomplished" syndrom, did not accept any contact. Too bad, the situation would be much better now.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Hippikos

You don't even believe when Iran admits itself?

Is it that actually an admission against interest, or is it mere bragging for residual propeganda value after the missiles have been destroyed?

There's no way to know...but either way it appears certain that Hezbollah did not have control over any Zelzal-2s, so they can hardly be given credit for not launching them. That Iran won't give them control supports the notion that they would use them if they could...which is what I said originally.

Iran's forbearance is only so as to not start a direct war with Israel prematurely: i.e. before they have nukes. I have to wonder if the Iranian U enrichment program at this point isn't mostly to give NK deniability if Iran detonates a nuke bought from NK in Israel. (Or as a back up if Kim Il Sung finds some way to self-destruct.)

Iran could probably deliver it in a rental truck. This has the virtue of not being rocket science; it's embarassing to lose a nuke because your rocket went haywire. And imagine the honor of being the first nuclear suicide bomber! I wonder how many virgins you get for that?

Obviously this is all Bush's fault; he's already been told all he has to do is have everybody convert to Islam and we'll all live in peace under the New Caliphate. What a stubborn fool.

[Hippikos]

I highly doubt Iran will start any war against Israel, despite Ahminejihad's rethorics. They, you(?) and me know that any attack on Israel will trigger severe retaliation from the US, most likely nuclear.

Currently an attack on Iran is much more realistic and therefore the Iranians are taking precautions to defend themselves.

Yes, Bush is stubborn fool. All he achieved is a much weakened position in the ME, allowing Iran to increase their influence in the ME, thanking the US for removing their arch-enemy Saddam and sinking into the Iraq quigmire. Tell me of any success Bush achieved in the ME.

And this Caliphate Myth is just as serious as White Power Nazis becoming the occupants of the White House.

[9th Engineer]

The only thing that matters in war is victory, everything else is semantics. Look at the U.S. in our revolutionary war, we pissed the hell out of the British by 'cheating' (not standing in straight lines waiting to take a cannon shot). And we won, end of story. Every action in war only needs to be decided based on whether it does more damage to the enemy than to yourself, and you absolutely need to take Economics Politics and Society into account. That's why the Israeli attack failed, the social and political impact did more damage to them then the bombs did to Hezbollah.
Only fight battles you can win, and of those, only fight the ones that will push you closer to your goal.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Hippikos

I highly doubt Iran will start any war against Israel, despite Ahminejihad's rethorics...And this Caliphate Myth is just as serious as White Power Nazis becoming the occupants of the White House.

Well, you beleive what you find plausible and I'll do the same.

You want me to disbelieve of Ahminejihad what he has said (presumably including his Holocaust denial; he's currently purging the universities of anybody not following *that* party line) and believe of Bush things he hasn't said.

I know who I find more credible.

[tw]

Originally Posted by MaggieL

And imagine the honor of being the first nuclear suicide bomber! I wonder how many virgins you get for that?

Was not what the Beatles had in mind when they wrote Imagine.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by tw

Was not what the Beatles had in mind when they wrote Imagine.

The Beatles didn't write "Imagine".

Originally Posted by National Lampoon's Radio Dinners

Give Ireland back to the Irish,
Give Lapland back to the Laps.
Give China Back to the Chinese,
And give Yoko back to the Japs.

[9th Engineer]

Oh give the man a break, I think that's the first time I've seen tw try to crack a joke. We should be encouraging him (to a point).

[tw]

Theme song for an Islamic Suicide Bomber?

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one ... with virigns.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by 9th Engineer

Oh give the man a break, I think that's the first time I've seen tw try to crack a joke.

I think he'll have to try harder...at least until the joke is recognisable as such. "Imagine there's no heaven..." doesn't sound very Quranically correct to me.

[Hippikos]

I know who I find more credible.

You don't mean to say that you find Bush.....credible???

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Hippikos

You don't mean to say that you find Bush.....credible???

It's a relative thing. Still, the people who hammer on this "Bush is a liar" mantra never seem to actually be able to actually prove it...there's this point at which the discourse kinda trails off and then falls back on name-calling, because the argument doesn't actually have any substance.

There's a vast difference between making a statement based on available intelligence info that turns out to not appear to have been true at the time it was made, and telling a lie. But "Bush is a liar" is just such a convenient shortcut...and it's an article of faith amongst his political opposition. It has the advantage of creating a warm feeling of fellowship and superiority amongst those espousing it, without actually demanding that they formulate (and agree upon! tricky...) effective policies that would replace what Bush is doing.

The core problem is: having as a political platform "Bush is Evil" is awfully shallow; it just doesn't represent a sound basis for policymaking. Furthermore, it crumbles utterly as a strategy when Bush retires.

I really don't like very much having to support Bush; I only agree with his policies somewhere about 60-70% of the time...or less. That's barely a pasing grade. But his opposition is currently scoring at the 5-8% level with me, so regretfully it's an easy call to make.

[Hippikos]

here's a vast difference between making a statement based on available intelligence info that turns out to not appear to have been true at the time it was made, and telling a lie. But "Bush is a liar" is just such a convenient shortcut...and it's an article of faith amongst his political opposition.

A real statesman like Harry Truman, had a sign on his desk; "The Buck Stops Here".

"The President--whoever he is--has to decide. He can't pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job."

Blaming the intelligence is exactly a thing what an intelligent lightweight, a US president unworthy, would do. Intelligence which btw was cherry picked and offered by a biased, special by Cheney created Intelligence Dept.

Still, the people who hammer on this "Bush is a liar" mantra never seem to actually be able to actually prove it

I give you some hints; special CIA offshore prisons.

Bush proclaimed that a report by leading economists concluded that the economy would grow by 3.3 percent in 2003 if his tax cut proposals were adopted. No such report exists.

On April 26,2003 President Bush said in his weekly radio address, "My jobs and growth plan would reduce tax rates for everyone who pays income tax."

Bush promised to pull out American troops after the Iraqi government was elected, fact is that there are more troops in Iraq as ever.

And I can go on and on and on.

60-70% eh? Really...

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Hippikos

And I can go on and on and on.

Yes, and that's the problem with Bush-bashers. They go on and on...

If you're a cult member it creates a warm fuzzy feeling of belonging. Otherwise it's just tedious.