Iran is Coming! -Derail Nuclear weapon discussion

[Gawd]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Yep, look at Iraq and Libya. If they had nukes, America would not have touched them.

[Ian]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Yep, look at Iraq and Libya. If they had nukes, America would not have touched them.

Nonsense. The US has not attacked Iran in thirty-two years... why?

Argentina felt like taking on a nuclear country in 1982. As have more than a few others.

Nukes are probably the most exaggerated strategic non-factor in history.

[Jason]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Um,no...
To which countries do you refer?

I was speaking more generally, trying to draw a principle out of the exchange above my post.

I'm not taking sides, just asking questions.

[Ian]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Um,no...
To which countries do you refer?

I was speaking more generally, trying to draw a principle out of the exchange above my post.

I'm not taking sides, just asking questions.

Thucydides would no doubt agree with that notion. I don't think it applies quite so literally in the modern world.

[Don't Panic]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Seems to have been the case for the past few centuries.

Not saying it's right, just what looks to have happened.

[Jason]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Um,no...
To which countries do you refer?

I was speaking more generally, trying to draw a principle out of the exchange above my post.

I'm not taking sides, just asking questions.

Thucydides would no doubt agree with that notion. I don't think it applies quite so literally in the modern world.

I'm impressed by the reference, but I'm trying to be more Socratic.

[Gawd]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Yep, look at Iraq and Libya. If they had nukes, America would not have touched them.

Nonsense. The US has not attacked Iran in thirty-two years... why?

Argentina felt like taking on a nuclear country in 1982. As have more than a few others.

Nukes are probably the most exaggerated strategic non-factor in history.

The US was too busy invading other countries for the past few decades. And Argentina didn't invade Not Great Britain in 1982. Argentina was trying to reclaim the islands Little Britain once again colonized.

[Jason]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Um,no...
To which countries do you refer?

I was speaking more generally, trying to draw a principle out of the exchange above my post.

I'm not taking sides, just asking questions.

Thucydides would no doubt agree with that notion. I don't think it applies quite so literally in the modern world.

You're probably right though. I don't think the argument "We're stronger than them so we're invading." sits very well with the public.

That's what public relations officers are for.

[Ian]

Curious.. so a country without the ability to adequately defend itself is a legitimate target by other nations ip so facto?

Yep, look at Iraq and Libya. If they had nukes, America would not have touched them.

Nonsense. The US has not attacked Iran in thirty-two years... why?

Argentina felt like taking on a nuclear country in 1982. As have more than a few others.

Nukes are probably the most exaggerated strategic non-factor in history.

The US was too busy invading other countries for the past few decades. And Argentina didn't invade Not Great Britain in 1982. Argentina was trying to reclaim the islands Little Britain once again colonized.

Semantics, and rationale for the war is irrelevant. Argentina risked a war with a nuclear power and got one, and nukes were a total non-factor, and they knew it. And Vietnam fought with China in the late 1970s. And Algeria and Indochina both fought against a nuclear France. And And Egypt & Syria attacked an almost-certainly-nuclear Israel in 1973. And the US fought itself into stalemate in Korea and strategic defeat in Vietnam, and Russia let itself get beat out of Afghanistan, and Britain and France lost their overseas colonies, all without seriously contemplating using nuclear weapons to achieve victory. Et cetera. Nukes have not been used since two weeks after they were invented. Their value is vastly overblown; even if a nuclear country has no fear of nuclear reciprocation, using them (first) in a war nowadays would completely wipe out any legitimacy of their cause for war.

[Gawd]

Ian, an alternate theory: America is the biggest jackass for actually using nukes to murder hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians at once. Other countries have better morals.

[Ian]

Uh-huh. Have you any idea how many more people would have died in Operations Olympic and Coronet had the war NOT been brought to an abrupt end?

[Gawd]

Uh-huh. Have you any idea that you didn't need to invade and murder hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians? Of course, American thinking is always to invade first and think later. Oh, and if you were thinking of American deaths, so what? You murdered hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians to save a few thousand American soldiers with weapons?

[Ian]

Yes yes... America is the most evil nation on the face of the Earth (after Israel, of course), blah blah blah... what else is new with you.

Enough of the derail. What do you think of my idea for Iranian frigates to get a port visit to South Beach?

[Gawd]

Typical Ian and making light of the monstrous deaths of non-Americans.

[Ian]

Typical Ian and making light of the monstrous deaths of non-Americans.

Typical Gawd derailing a thread with any excuse to hate Americans.

Enough of 1945. Back on subject please. The vision of Iranian sailors visiting South Beach - how 'bout it?