Wow. Wow. Uh, wow...you are dense as hell. I never called you a lib Bret. Achmadinajod(phonetically spelled)is
impotent you say? Seeing as he's been funneling weapons and money into Iraq and killing our soldiers and has been since the beginning I'd say that's a moronic statement. And allow me to inform you that Iran is striving for nuclear weapons and have some serious allies in that pursuit(Korea...possibly Russia etc)-and don't even start with the UN etal...that's a toothless dog and pony show of inept and corrupt scum(well almost all of them). If you want to scream about wasted money and lives why don't you start pissing on the UN...the ultimate reason we are in Iraq is because they failed to follow through because of their corrupt leaders and apathy. And while were at it...how much do you and I spend on the UN and their heinous diplomatic immunity. I'm thinking that hookers and $1000 meals aren't really in our budget right now...what say you? How about all the children being raped all over the world by UN soldiers(from Pakistan etc).
But back to the show....I'm not saying we just go attack Iran over nothing-certainly not in the prosecution of the war on terrorism(though I've always suspected that they have assisted Bin Laden since 9/11 and possibly are even harboring him, using communications and rumors to perpetuate the idea that he's in the hinterlands of Pakistan-I won't bother you with the facts and the reading that lead me to that conclusion. And furthermore...he is a fkn terrorist because he was one of the bastards that kept watch over the US hostages about 30 years ago...one of the leaders-look it up) .....what I'm saying is that if you're going to start a "war" right now you'd be much more effective, its more feasible and certainly more advantageous taking Iran on and not Pakistan. If you're justifying using tax dollars to go and kill people and loose our sons and daughters then Pakistan is not a good option at all.
The reasons we haven't gone into Pakistan goes much deeper than stroking Musharaf...the hated leader of Pakistan. We are and have been in Pakistan guaranteed...right now we have boots on the ground and they are tunneled into some rathole with all manner of top secret imagery and weaponry at their disposal waiting for the right moment to take UBL out. The reason you don't know about it is because we are playing our cards very carefully and making sure we don't stir up that hornets nest(good strategy). Some "wars" should be fought in the shadows. I wouldn't be surprised if they know exactly where Bin Laden is and have been using him to backtrack to the real threat...terrorism cells around the world-but that's just another educated opinion.
So, allow me to pontificate on some basic war planning stategery
o): I'll use the term "ally" loosely.
1)Iran is bordered in the west by Iraq(ally) and Turkey(ally) and in the east by Afghanistan(ally) and Pakistan(ally) To the north are the "stans"...countries that were formerly in the Soviet Union and by and large are steadfast allies of the US.
2)By far and away Iran's population is the most educated of Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. The population is by and large westernized. The countries infrastructure is better than other countries in the region as well. Iran also had the longest coastline in the region.
3)The populations of these countries are:
a) Iraq 30 million est.
b) Afghanistan 24 million est
c) Iran 75 million est
d) Pakistan 165 million est
4) "Connecting the dots....the wild west of Iraq and the middle ages of Afghanistan makes good sense when the country in the middle is like us in a lot of ways-with the exception of the government of course!
5) Pakistan is bordered by China and India as well...all three are nuclear powers. Iran's obvious intent is to also become a nuclear power and destroy Israel(strong ally). More than likely Israel will attack Iran in the near future and our hand will forced anyway...but that's another subject.
6) Creating a "stronghold" of stability in the region is probably for the good of the planet.
7)Iran is a huge oil producing country and yes, I think it's time we take some goldarn oil from somebody...I'd start with Iraq.
Attacking Pakistan with it's massive population...more than Iran, Iraq and Afghan. combined would bring an entirely new dimension to the current state of affairs. The population of Pakistan by and large hates the western ideal and especially the US, though they are highly influenced muslim extremist. This is what I would call "stirring up a hornets nest". Uneducated, extremist muslims with many of their children brainwashed in madrasas so there will be generations of America haters to enlist. Pakistan is the 800lb gorilla that just took a hit of PCP in the room.
There are so many reasons not to attack Pakistan to get one man that it's shocking. Comparing Pakistan, a nuclear power who's government is an ally of the US with Iraq, a country that was run by an insanely diobolical monster(thug as you put it)-that according to just about everybody at the time had WMD stockpiles and intent to use them(as he had before on his own people)is just plain ignorant.
