tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post114114831511062917..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: Iran's Nuclear Weapon and What To Do About ItHunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1141239348230296912006-03-01T13:55:00.000-05:002006-03-01T13:55:00.000-05:00Buzz, maybe you can answer a question: I was under...Buzz, maybe you can answer a question: I was under the impression that the so-called "bunker buster" nuclear weapons were still in development, not deployable (as Dr. London seems to posit). You probably keep far better track on military hardware developments than a casual observer such as myself.<BR/><BR/>There is a very real question of whether or not Iran could stand toe-to-toe against the US and Israel. While their air force could not hope to prevent ours from operating, Iran's standing army outnumbers the US forces in the region by nearly 10 to one. Their military is also not crippled in the way Iraq's was - by a decade of sanctions and no-fly zones.<BR/><BR/>The bigger question, however, goes back to the "Persian street." Observers of Iran's politics speculate that the Bush Administration's "Axis of Evil" polemics played a key role in pushing Ahmadinejad's election into the realm of political legitimacy by turning everyday Persians away from their typical pro-US stance in a moment of nationalist unity. US military action has a very real chance of unifying Iran against a foreign actor, far more so than destabilizing the mullah's regime. This happened in Serbia during the Kosovo conflict: the pro-US Serbs became enraged by assaults on their infrastructure and even the minimal "collateral damage" - a disgusting euphemism - fanned those flames.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1141203018603443412006-03-01T03:50:00.000-05:002006-03-01T03:50:00.000-05:00I would also add that the kind of assistance that ...I would also add that the kind of assistance that Condi Rice is looking for ($75 million-ish) in aid to dissidents of the Iranian regime, is very similar in nature to aid given to groups in Serbia which brought down Milosevic. <BR/><BR/>Nobody in their right minds wants a theocracy to have any wmd's.Devanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08039407801743458960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1141202688125826422006-03-01T03:44:00.000-05:002006-03-01T03:44:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Devanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08039407801743458960noreply@blogger.com