Mekhong Kurt,

“All that said, I have zero time for President Ahmadinejad, for the simple reason he is a loose enough cannon to embroil the entire region in war, perhaps a nuclear one were he able to get his hands on nuclear weapons, embroil it without regard even for his own people.”

On what evidence of you base this analysis? Has he ever threatened Israel or any other country? Has he ever said he wants nukes?

Or did the taking heads on Fox news repeat this diatribe often enough for you to believe it?

Even Ehud Barak has said that Iran is unlikely to launch nuclear strike on Israel, even if they had nukes
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-02/27/c_13190202.htm

80% of Israelis said they could live with a nuclear armed Iran.

Yet you, who lives somewhere in the United state of Amnesia, is convinced Ahmadinejad can’t wait to launch a nuke.

Not only have you had limited exposure to Iranians ,you’ve had limited exposure to reality.

As for President Obama’s outreach efforts, let’s look at them too shall we?

The US proposed that Iran send it’s fuel to Russia and France to be processed into fuel rods for it’s research reactor. In typical US form, Obama said he was willing to negotiate, while insisting that the offer was non negotiable.  When Iran finally did agree to the terms, the US dismissed Iran’s acceptance as a stalling tactic.  The French went so far as to describe the development as troubling.

Yes you heard that right.  For months, the West condemned Iran for not accepting their offer and when they DID accept it, they condemned Iran for accepting their offer.  How much confidence does that inspire?

So your argument comes down to the usually anti Iranian diatribe,  Yes we have nukes, and used nukes,  but that’s OK coz it’s not going to change.

Israel has nukes and that’s not going to change.

But it’s Ahmadinejad that’s inexcusable.

Orwell, eat your heart out.

“the purpose of nuclear power is for nuclear weapons. a country floating on oil has no other need of nuclear power.”

Absolute rubbish.

During the Shah’s rule, the same peopel making that lame argument today (ie. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz), argued that it was a good idea for Iran to move towards nulcear power.

Oil is a valuable commodity, who’s price will only go upwith time. For Iran, it makes sense to export that oil and make money from it that burn it at home. 

“the deception tactics leading up to proliferation is fueling my doubts”

What is fuelling your doubts is your ignorance.  There have been no deception tactics.

“i am praying Israel first strike, and eliminate all doubts.”

You are a deluded fool.  An Israeli strike will lead to WWIII.  Israel cannto possibly pull it off anyway, as they would have to stroke 1,200 targets, which means a month long bombing campaign.

“drop leaflets on all employees and tell them to clear out, they have three hours to evacuate, and obliterate their capability, alike the United States has done in the past.”

Actually the IRA, another terrost group, used to use that befoer setting off bombs in London.

Say, would it be OK if Hamas sent warnings before firing rockets into Israel?

It’s ignroamuses like yourself that prove you can fool some people all of the time.

“a country floating on oil has no other need of nuclear power.”

Common mistake.
Iran is an importer of Petroleum and perceives burning oil to make electricity as both irresponsible ecologically and a waste of dwindling resources. Iran ranks third in the World with oil reserves less than half that of Saudi Arabia which has its own U.S. supported Nuclear program:

http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2008/May/20080516160353idybeekcm0.3394586.html

hello. the purpose of nuclear power is for nuclear weapons. a country floating on oil has no other need of nuclear power. whether or not they would use the weapons aggressively: is the only question i have. i understand wanting parity with the boy’s club, i just do not trust their intentions; either from propaganda, or not. the deception tactics leading up to proliferation is fueling my doubts. implausible denial has become -suspect of bad intentions. had they just stuck to ‘we want defensive deterrent parity’, (which is a little ludicrous, as we are the only ones to ever publicly use nuclear weapons), i would have had fewer doubts. i am praying Israel first strike, and eliminate all doubts. drop leaflets on all employees and tell them to clear out, they have three hours to evacuate, and obliterate their capability, alike the United States has done in the past.

Correction to the link:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ahmadinejad’s_2006_letter_to_Bush

For those who have read only what the MSM prints about Ahmadinejad or the mistranslations of his words from sources such as MEMRI, I strongly suggest taking time out to read reliable translations of his actual words.

His letter to GWB which was dismissed by that worthy as a “sermon” (in the sense of, “don’t preach to me”):

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ahmadinejad’s_2006_letter_to_Bush

A balanced view and exposure of some of the distortions given his famous “wiped off the map” and other pronouncements here:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12790.htm

The impression I get is that of a somewhat naive but pious and truthful man rather than the irresponsible firebrand usually described.

I detest Cheney; always have. If I had wanted a secret President or “Co-President,” I would have asked for one. I’m American, but the wanton loss of life by Iraqis and Ahghanistan citizens bothers me deeply; so do the deaths of my fellow Americans who were under arms.

I’m not exactly what you could call a fan of the government in Israel, either.

All that said, I have zero time for President Ahmadinejad, for the simple reason he is a loose enough cannon to embroil the entire region in war, perhaps a nuclear one were he able to get his hands on nuclear weapons, embroil it without regard even for his own people.

I’ve had limited exposure to Iranians, the closest being to a couple with whom I worked two years at a university in Asia, where we all three taught. They, and the few other Iranians with whom I’ve had interaction, all were wonderful, friendly people.

President Ahmadinejad doesn’t exactly publicly ally himself with people who make him and his administration very attractive to me, nor, I suspect, to just about any American administration, despite President Obama’s outreach efforts.

Before someone jumps on me and claims the Iranians want nuclear power purely for peaceful purposes, well, yeah—maybe. They don’t exactly inspire confidence this regard. Yes, yes—MY country has nuclear weapons. But I don’t see how to rid the world of the damned things anytime soon; even if all the declared nuclear powers got together and had a grand ceremony getting rid of every single nuclear weapon they have, strategic and tactical, active, reserve, and awaiting decommissioning—what about Israel? I can’t see them giving up their ace in the whole, not given the realities on the ground around their borders.

I really see little by which President Ahmadinejad can be defended, justified, or excused.

Why would the Iranians want to talk with Israel threatening to unleash the dogs of war on a weekly basis?

No matter what reasons we give, or no matter whether we are justifed or not.

We cannot afford another war.

We do not have the money, and our military is worn beyond belief. We cannot afford any more lives.

The cost to our economy would be catastrophic.

I can think of the perfect answer to this, but I’ll hold my tongue in the interests of world peace.

“Not everything that can be said, should be.”  (quote from Bennie Franklinstein’s Farmer’s Almanac 1813)