GAFFNEY: The war with Iran

That Iran and the US have acted as though we've been at war since 1979 is certainly correct. That there is no real long term reason for conflict between our two nations is also certainly correct. Five minutes after Iran explodes a nuclear device they will realize the same thing every nation that has ever developed a nuclear weapon has, that they are worthless and unusable. Of course they are not going to execute their threat to wipe Israel off the map as it would lead to their own destruction. Nothing in the acts of the Iranian leaders should lead anyone to believe they are irrational. Mr. Gaffney writes as if war with Iran is inevitable. He often wrote the same thing about the Soviet Union which was just as nonsensical. We are quite capable of putting an end to this 'war' going on between us and Iran but too many people on both sides get too much out of keeping it going. Just like the Cold War. What a waste.

Every time I think I've read the dumbest article ever, The Washington Times out does itself. Congratulations on reaching a new level of ignorance. Here's a thought: Had we focused on renewable energy 30 years ago as Carter (yes, our beloved idiot) suggested, Iran wouldn't hold any sway. But that was silly talk from a raving moron, right? Look at how much better we are today.... People need to get educated.

Derek and KC illustrate why this election is important - an Obama presidency would be a disaster. The ignornace lies in their inability to understand that this enemy has been at war with the West for decades. Yeah, and the Soviet Union - they weren't our enemy. There was no Cold War. Good grief, the Left in this country is truly in need of therapy.

BoilerT illustrates the paranoic authortarian streak of the reactionary right who seem to psychologicaly need seek out enemies where there are none. Of course there was a cold war. That we needed to build thousands of nuclear weapons and create a massive military industrial complex to guard against the Soviet Union was nonsense. That we needd a military and political shield from the Soviets was clear. But not to the extent the likes of Boiler T insisted on. That the Soviet Union was failing as a state was obvious to many of us in the 1980's due to contradictions inherint in all socialist states. The creations of thousands of nuclear weapons was a reckless and wantonly dangerious policy that increased the danger to ourselves and the rest of the world. In addition it almost certainly prolonged the life of the Soviet union beyond when it should have died. The constant drum beat from the reactionary right that any deviation from their policies will lead to disaster is a hollow shell. George Kennon once wrote that should the Soviet Union dissapear overnight many in this country would need to find another enemy to replace them. That a small band of psychopaths who managed in the face of the towering incompetence of the Bush administration to kill 3000 of us plus a country with no industrialized potential have been blown up to represent a threat to overrun the US and western europe demonstrates the truth of Kennon's assertion.

The largest human disasters in the last century came about by those in the West failing to recognize and mitigate malevolence in the rest of the world. It contributed to the slaughter of WW I and spawned WW II when the German and Japanese governments descended into inhumanity. The catastrophe that was the soviet union ultimately butchered millions while the West hung back and watched. For over 40 years we allowed millions to be enslaved by a hollow giant for fear that we might “rock the boat”. The better chunk of the last century was so bad because the opinions of the European “West” held sway. At the end of WW II that began to change. The American “West” came into ascendancy. So, should the US (the ultimate power in the West) be fearful of Iran? No. Should we aid and abet that government? No. Should we be on guard against the activities and thwart them at every turn? Absolutely. Should we buy into the hollow rhetoric of KC and his ilk? Only as a death wish. This world is brutish and evil but far less so for the efforts of a courageous and self sacrificing people called Americans. It is to mankind’s benefit that we endeavor to disassemble the evil societies that exist on the planet. It is a moral imperative – would you withhold food from the starving? Would you withhold medicine from the sick? Would you withhold freedom from the oppressed? The legacy of America is human freedom and the plan for its enemies is enslavement. It is really that simple.