Reid; Iran “invasion” would destabilize region

 

Harry Reid in a blogged interview on Think Progress, in his infinite wisdom, and counting the times he’s been correct on any issue on one finger, determined that Joe Lieberman’s call for a strike against Iran would destabilize the region;

“I know Joe feels strongly about that part of the world. I do too,” said Reid, rejecting Lieberman’s calls for ratcheting up tensions. “I believe our efforts should be diplomatic in nature,” Reid said, citing the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group and others to hold a regional conference to resolve security issues in the Middle East. Reid also noted that “we are so overextended” that the U.S. does not have the ground troops necessary for a war with Iran.

“The invasion of [Iran] is only going to destabilize that part of the world more,” Reid charged. “I know Joe means well, but I don’t agree with him.”

Well, Harry, Senator Lieberman recommended a retaliatory strike, not an invasion. And I don’t know how much more the region can be “destabilized” anyway. Turks are poised to attack the Kurda. Syria is gearing up for another Summer offensive against Israel for the Golan Heights, Iran is scooping up US citizens left and right knowing that you and Nancy Pelosi will throw yourselves in front of an airstrike against them.

But, to your original statement, there’s a difference between what you’re saying and what Senator Lieberman said. According to Reuters, Lieberman said;

Lieberman, appearing on CBS’ Sunday program “Face the Nation,” said the United States had “good evidence” that Iraqis were being trained to use the weapons at a camp inside Iran. He advocated a military strike in retaliation, saying much of the job could be done with air strikes.

MSNBC also reported Lieberman’s statement;

“I think we’ve got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq,” Lieberman said. “And to me, that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers.” 

As compared to your false assumption that the strike aircraft will be carried into Iran on the backs of infantrymen. How much aircraft is being utilized in Iraq and Afghanistan as opposed to the number of aircraft currently floating off the coast of Iran? Why do you think the three carrier groups were deployed to the Gulf?

Reid just won’t let go of the Iraq Study Group recommendation;

So I would think rather than talking about military action against Iran, we should do what the Iraq Study Group said. Have a regional conference where we sit down and the president himself is personally involved with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and yes, Iran. That’s where our efforts have to be.

Reid’s child-like innocence is stunning. I guess he hasn’t noticed that Iran won’t even own up to what they’re doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, so how do we sit down and talk to them? The only thing they understand is unrelenting force. According to CBS News;

Iran on Monday [February 12, 2007] rejected U.S. accusations that the highest levels Iranian leadership has armed insurgents in Iraq with armor-piercing roadside bombs.

“Such accusations cannot be relied upon or be presented as evidence. The United States has a long history in fabricating evidence. Such charges are unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.

U.S. military officials in Baghdad on Sunday accused the Iranian leadership of arming Shiite militants in Iraq with the sophisticated bombs that have killed more than 170 troops from the American-led coalition.

So while Harry is busy waving his current white flag, Iran has taken to threatening the US once again according to the Associated Press (On Fox News);

Iran will make the United States “regret” its detention of five Iranian officials in Iraq, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tuesday.

Mottaki was referring to five Iranian officials detained in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil by U.S. troops in January, who still remain in U.S. custody. The U.S. military has said they are suspected of links to a network supplying arms to Iraqi insurgents — an accusation that Iran has denied.

“We will make the Americans regret their ugly and illegal act,” Mottaki was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying. He didn’t elaborate on how Iran will make Washington regret the action.

But ya see, the Iranians can just take hostages left and right, as reported by the Independent;

Iran’s confirmation yesterday that it has detained a fourth Iranian-American – this one a peace activist from California – seems certain to further rile relations between the two countries, already tense over Iran’s nuclear program.

The United States has sharply criticized the detentions but Iran insists America has no right to interfere.

Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, confirmed at his weekly news briefing that Iranian-American Ali Shakeri had been detained.

And the reason they think they can away with that kind of behavior? Because they have Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi carrying their water for them in Congress; Iran’s own ready-made lobbying team that operates free-of-charge in the intrests of the mullahs.

Gateway Pundit points and giggles at Harry Reid’s poll numbers (19% approval rating) – the same poll numbers that Reid used to deride Vice President Cheney a scant few months ago. I guess that since Reid has taken to surrendering to the nutroots as well as the jihadists (or apparently anyone who gives him a disapproving look), he’s just not liked by anyone anymore.

Category: Foreign Policy, Politics, Terror War