Posted by
The Proud Liberal on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 4:11:43 PM
I've got parts of Bolton's interviews the last couple of days. Good thing he didn't stay on at the U.N. Things Bolton doesn't say about the threat from Iran.
1. Patriotism of Iran's population. The majority of Iranians are decidedly not waiting with baited breath for the Americans to invade or even conduct a small bombing raid on their country. We won't be greeted as liberators.
2. Ahmadinijad was elected democratically. There are Iranians who agree with his policies.
3. We've heard that Ahmadinijad's position isn't all that powerful. The top mullahs really make policy. So, is Ahmadinijad speaking for them or for himself, we don't know.
4. We've seen comparisons about the populations and the military size and might of the United States and Iran and we've got a huge edge. We're goliath, they're David.
5. There's no evidence that Iran is suicidal. There's no evidence that their ideology will drive them to start a war that will destroy their country.
6. It's OK for them to desire to be the dominant country in their area.
7. It's Ok for them to have atomic weapons. Pakistan has atomic weapons. India has atomic weapons. Israel has atomic weapons. Iran is a sovereign state. It can do what it wants. It may feel like it needs atomic weapons for self-defense. Can't a country do what it needs to do to defend itself?
8. It seems like Bolton and the other neo-cons have focused all their fear and paranoia on Iran and then have gotten upset because Democrats don't see the same fearful, paranoic things they do
9. One of the definitions of paranoia is that the person takes things that are possibilities and in his mind turns them into probabilities.
10. It is a tough, uncertain world. Cheney's doctrine that if there's a 1% possibility a country could do America harm we are justified in attacking them preemptively is simply madness.