Guardian: British officials consider contingency options to back up a possible US action

Ex-CIA and Ex Mossad chief Meir Dagan warn of impending war with Iran.


RT piece.

It's Russia Today, I'd take it with a bit of salt. Also, that Politico guy needs to get off his soapbox.

I take any media opinion with a salt shaker. But it's a bit hard to ignore the possibility with the hype of the unproven assassination attempt and previous warnings by officers of the CIA and mossad who issued warnings months ago.

Yeah, they're ok with non-USA news but man, they go more to the left than MSNBC sometimes with American news.

RT are not the ones breaking the story though.

refused wrote: RT are not the ones breaking the story though.

Which "British Officals" then? Bet it's taken way out of context.

Well, (as I have said before) I think that a showdown with Iran is going to happen in the next few years. If that amounts to military action, who knows.

I think though we can be fairly sure that Israel does not have any qualms acting unilaterally.

BURN_BABY wrote: Which "British Officals" then? Bet it's taken way out of context.

Read the first link.

WillAY wrote: Well, (as I have said before) I think that a showdown with Iran is going to happen in the next few years. If that amounts to military action, who knows.

Military action would be interesting since Syria and Iran will have to be engaged at the same time, due to their military alliance. Russia has warned against western aggression in Iran and adding Lebanon and Palestine to the mix, leads to a pretty messy situation.

refused wrote: Military action would be interesting since Syria and Iran will have to be engaged at the same time

The violent resistance in Syria seems to be growing with time, in particular the organisation of the army deserters seems to be increasing(they're now launching raids against government facilities), given that the army command structure is almost entirely loyal to Assad what's the bet there are foreign intelligence forces at work there.

refused wrote: Russia has warned against western aggression

I read a book about Russian air power and with the very short war with Georgia the Russians was shocked at how unprepared they were that they are reorganizing their entire air and military forces because of it.

Today a war involving Russia is a little to soon, Tomorrow (so to speak) when they have finished organizing themselves - maybe.

Edit the link in,

Quote: The original volume was the first comprehensive survey published on all the Russian Air Forces and was the result of Yefim Gordon's unrivalled access to information on Russian air forces. Since the first edition was published Russia has undergone a complete restructuring of its air forces.

Quote: The Russian President voiced his dissatisfaction with the Air Force's performance especially strongly after the August 2008 operation in the Caucasus whose aim was to 'compel Georgia to peace.

Quote: Four out of five Israelis expect a strike by its military on Iran to lead to war with Hamas and Hezbollah, a poll showed yesterday after media speculation about a possible attack on Tehran's nuclear facilities. Thursday's test of a ballistic missile and the military's disclosure that three F16 fighter-bomber squadrons had exercised over Sardinia in the past week. Then yesterday, the Tel Aviv area held a drill to practice dealing with rocket attacks

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/new...jectid=10764032

Interesting somewhat-related story I read the other day:

Quote: For many years US, British, German and Israeli intelligence agencies are said to have helped to supply Iran with faulty parts designed to self-destruct and cause damage to surrounding equipment. Over the past two years three Iranian scientists have been killed and one wounded in Tehran in what appears to be a focused campaign. In January 2010 a particle physicist, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb strapped to a motorcycle as he was leaving his Tehran home on his way to work. In November last year Majid Shahriar, of the nuclear engineering faculty at the Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, was killed by a bomb stuck to the side of his car by an assassin on a motorbike. On the same day Fereidoun Abbasi-Davani, a nuclear physicist suspected in the west of involvement in nuclear weapons development, was injured in a similar attack. Three months later he was made head of the Iranian nuclear effort. In July a university physicist, Darioush Rezaie, was shot dead by a gunman on a motorbike in an eastern Tehran street. In 2010 a computer worm called Stuxnet infected operating systems at the Natanz enrichment plant, making large numbers of centrifuges crash and causing the temporary suspension of enrichment work in November that year. Enrichment restarted a few days later and Iran has made up the backlog in production, although its centrifuges have appeared to be less efficient since the Stuxnet attack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/201...clear-programme

Also less related but I'm not sure where to put it:

Quote: Afghanistan is a proxy war between India and Pakistan When Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai visited New Delhi earlier last month to sign a strategic partnership deal, he quickly reassured Islamabad it remained Kabul's most important partner. "Pakistan is our twin brother, India is a great friend. The agreement we signed with our friend will not affect our brother," he explained. India and Afghanistan's problem is that Pakistan doesn't agree. It sees India's involvement in Afghanistan as a threat to its 'strategic depth', a concept in which Afghanistan is acknowledged as Pakistan's backyard in which India has no right to hang out with its great friend. The fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 allowed India to expand its influence in Afghanistan dramatically. Its engineers and IT specialists poured in as part of its most ambitious aid package – worth more than $1.5 billion – to build remote mountain roads, establish telephone, internet, and satellite links and reopen schools and hospitals. Washington encouraged India's involvement and believed it could use the soft power of its popular Bollywood film industry and other cultural links to encourage tolerance and pluralism in the country.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...d-Pakistan.html

An Indian Pakistan war grows increasingly unlikely as India's military powers ahead compared to Pakistan. However, this could introduce the nuke issue to any possible war. (But, India has said they'd never nuke first)

They have been talking about bombing Iran for years, but it never happens. I'm surprised it hasn't happened already because the longer they leave it the more harder it is with Iran building up its defenses. It may already be to late if Iran now has its program so deep underground beyond the dept that missiles can penetrate to.

Quote: Israeli President Shimon Peres, when asked by Israeli television if "something was bringing us closer to a military option rather than a diplomatic one", he replied: "I believe so." He continued: "I estimate that intelligence services of all these countries are looking at the ticking clock, warning leaders that there was not much time left.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15607844

However, its bit like the crying wolf. Israel could just be bluffing again to try and get more sanctions with no intention of attacking.

Russia: Israeli threat of strikes on Iran 'a mistake'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15617657

"Military action against Iran would be a "very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences", Russia's foreign minister has warned.

Sergei Lavrov said diplomacy, not missile strikes, was the only way to solve the Iranian nuclear problem.

His comments come after Israeli President Shimon Peres said an attack on Iran was becoming more likely."

I think Israel has a tough decision make, either have a risky war or allow Iran to become their existential threat with nuclear weapons. Its a 50 percent chance that they will attack. If they do it will probably be a surprise attack and happen unexpectedly and after the media has moved on. And the winter months are just round the corner so my guess is maybe next year. With the thread title "next stop" maybe the game plan is Syria is next on the list to achieve regime change in Syria before they attack Iran?

50%?

Sure

Israel wont likely do it without US backing, and I can't see the yanks being keen (despite what they're currently saying) for any sort of war with Iran, even if it is limited airstrikes. All these new regimes that have popped up around the place might get a bit anti-west/Israel (even moreso than they already are) if that happened. Why risk it?

This thread belongs in the Battlefield 3 forum.

I think the sarkozy/obama open mic comments may be a political calculation to distance the US from Israel in the case they take unilateral action against Iran. Just a thought.

Wally Simmonds wrote: any sort of war with Iran, even if it is limited airstrikes.

The thing is, there is no way it would be just limited airstrikes... Iran would retaliate.

In order to get popular public support, a strike on Iran would need (assuming an Iranian nuke programme actually exists..) either a total admission by Iran, a truly collossal Iranian security ****up, or a 1km-wide crater in Jerusalem and/or Washingon.

They could get a nuke if they wanted one, but Iran's leaders aren't stupid. I still think its 70/30 perhaps 80/20 that they aren't pursuing nuclear weapons and are just rattling the west's cage.

Quasi ELVIS wrote: This thread belongs in the Battlefield 3 forum.

Sad, but true. Life imitating art and all that.