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2006-08-20 Home Front: Politix

Dupe entry: 'Steyn: World is watching as Iraq war tests U.S. mettle

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Posted by Frank G 2006-08-20 12:06|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11137 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Is it just me, or does anyone else sense that something huge and decisive is about to happen?

Its not the Aug. 22 thing, because I sensed it before those rumors arose.

For those who haven't heard it, cut and paste (until Mod approval) this link to the President's National Cathedral Speech. I always read something cryptic in the wording.

link format corrected here and in other comments. to insert a link in a comment, select some text you want to show as the clickable link, then click on the 'link' button and insert the URL.

Posted by Snease Shaiting3550 2006-08-20 12:51|| 2006-08-20 12:51|| Front Page Top

#2 I think Ben Stein misses the motivations. I think the Russians and the Pakistani thought the US would fail in Afghanistan. By providing assistance they would come out on our good side if we won, but have a lot of manuevering room if we ended up in a 9 year fiasco as the Red Army did.

Posted by rjschwarz">rjschwarz 2006-08-20 13:11|| rjschwarz.com]">[rjschwarz.com] 2006-08-20 13:11|| Front Page Top

#3 Sorta like, the ceasefire in Lebanon was pushed on Israel because they are the sideshow (not to waste more resources, they may be needed for bigger things), the main event is about to begin?

Mr. GW Pokerface, show us your hand.

Posted by john">john 2006-08-20 13:12|| 2006-08-20 13:12|| Front Page Top

#4 this is Mark Steyn. Ben Stein has the other opinion article....

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-08-20 13:20|| 2006-08-20 13:20|| Front Page Top

#5 Something like the calm before the storm Snease?

Yes, I have it too, and I have a feeling that 'Shock and Awe' won't begin to describe it.

Posted by Tony (UK) 2006-08-20 13:26|| 2006-08-20 13:26|| Front Page Top

#6 There's shock and awe and then there's shock and awe.

I have a solution to all those dogs in the pounds across the US.

We also have a lot of pig waste.

Very few buildings destroyed or civilians killed.

Posted by anonymous2u 2006-08-20 13:35|| 2006-08-20 13:35|| Front Page Top

#7 "Is it just me, or does anyone else sense that something huge and decisive is about to happen?"

Dunno. But I sense something damn well better happen, or we're screwed.

I see two possibilities here:

1) We've gone to one helluva lot of trouble to project an image of weakness, confusion and indecision, in order to lure the Islamonutz into doing something so vile and stupid that Bush & Co. will have a clear political mandate for stomping their asses; or

2) We really have descended into weakness, confusion and indecision.

God, I sure hope it's #1...

Posted by Dave D.">Dave D. 2006-08-20 14:04|| 2006-08-20 14:04|| Front Page Top

#8 yes

Posted by lotp 2006-08-20 14:18|| 2006-08-20 14:18|| Front Page Top

#9 Yesterday someone said we don't have a fleet near Iran. I hope that's true, because it suggests to me that we are about to pound the hell out of them and don't want them to have targets for retaliation in the early hours. Submarines, cruise missiles, and stealth bombers work for me. Nukes too.

Posted by Darrell 2006-08-20 14:24|| 2006-08-20 14:24|| Front Page Top

#10 According to the Navy's public web page, we have no carriers in the Gulf or the Red Sea or the Mediterranean. We do, however, have the Iwo Jima expeditionary strike group in the Med along with a command ship. Location of subs is never mentioned.

Posted by lotp 2006-08-20 14:32|| 2006-08-20 14:32|| Front Page Top

#11 see: "Diego Garcia; Bombers deployed from"

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-08-20 14:35|| 2006-08-20 14:35|| Front Page Top

#12 And they don't say WHERE in the Atlantic the USS George Washington is.

Re: Iran, it appears that we don't have any ships in or near the Straits of Hormuz.

Posted by lotp 2006-08-20 14:36|| 2006-08-20 14:36|| Front Page Top

#13 Hamas weakened...check
Hizbullah weakened...check
Israeli public dissatisfied...check
Public attentive to terrorism...check
Fleet protected...check
Iran not stopping enrichment...check
August 22nd pending...check
NK needs an instructive example... check
Ready to launch.

Posted by Darrell 2006-08-20 14:48|| 2006-08-20 14:48|| Front Page Top

#14 Was there a picture on RB with a big ass airbase in the middle of Iraq? just saying is all. :)

Posted by djohn66 2006-08-20 14:52|| 2006-08-20 14:52|| Front Page Top

#15 Very interesting checklist Darrell, sounds good to me...

Posted by Tony (UK) 2006-08-20 15:03|| 2006-08-20 15:03|| Front Page Top

#16 "Public attentive to terrorism...check"

That's the one I'm not too sure about. Too many have gone back to Sept. 10th...

Posted by Dave D.">Dave D. 2006-08-20 15:07|| 2006-08-20 15:07|| Front Page Top

#17 7 outta 8 ain't bad

Posted by Darrell 2006-08-20 15:11|| 2006-08-20 15:11|| Front Page Top

#18 True. Let's hope things break loose soon; this aimless screwing around is getting REALLY old.

Posted by Dave D.">Dave D. 2006-08-20 15:18|| 2006-08-20 15:18|| Front Page Top

#19 djohn66 were you thinking of Balad Air Base?

Posted by Parabellum 2006-08-20 17:32|| 2006-08-20 17:32|| Front Page Top

#20 Hah!! Balad looks like it's less than 50 miles from the Iranian border. That's gotta make the Mullahs a little nervous...

Posted by Tony (UK) 2006-08-20 17:44|| 2006-08-20 17:44|| Front Page Top

#21 Yes, that is the base nice and big and close. :)

Posted by djohn66 2006-08-20 18:39|| 2006-08-20 18:39|| Front Page Top

#22 Folks,

You don't hit Iran from carriers in the Med. You hit them from carriers in the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf (where CBGs (carrier battle groups) are never (rarely) deployed due to the tight circumstances), the Arabian Sea, and possibly the "Pacific" (the Pacific is a big place and the boundaries are not quite solidly defined so a CBG in the "Pacific" could just as easily be in the Indian for all the USN is going to say). Tehran is beyond non-aerial-refueled strike range of most land-based fighters from Israel so is almost certainly beyond the range of any non-aerial-refueled naval strike aircraft deployed from even a US CBG in the Med.

Diego Garcia is in the Indian. Guam is in the Pacific. Both have airfields and aircraft fully capable of ranging to Tehran and back.

Posted by FOTSGreg">FOTSGreg 2006-08-20 19:00|| www.fire-on-the-suns.com]">[www.fire-on-the-suns.com] 2006-08-20 19:00|| Front Page Top

#23 see: "Diego Garcia; Bombers deployed from"
You hit them from Whitman AFB.

Posted by 6 2006-08-20 19:37|| 2006-08-20 19:37|| Front Page Top

#24 On the first day of the Yom Kippur war in 1973, the US deployed an SR-71 from Beale AFB, California, to fly reconnaissance over the battlefield in Israel/Egypt/Jordan/Syria. The aircraft recovered at RAF Mildenhall, and flew additional missions from there until at least a week after the war was over. B-52 war missions were scheduled to take off out of our midwest airfields and bomb Russia, then recover back in the US. There is NOWHERE too far away for us to touch, and it doesn't take aircraft carriers to reach. Crested Cap, an exercise that ran for several years between the US and Europe required an entire military tac fighter wing to deploy NON-STOP from the US (Holloman, for me) to Europe (Spangdahlem), and be ready to fly offensive missions within 8 hours of landing. One experiment called for US paratroopers to go aboard aircraft at Pope AFB, NC and from Fort Bragg, and drop in Italy. I'm talking about things that happened in the 1960's, 1970's, and early 1980's. We have an even greater "reach" today. Not having carriers in the Persian Gulf or off the southern coast of Iran means nothing. The US military reach is global, and by that, I mean anywhere, any time, at the President's call. No one should find comfort in NOT having US assets near their borders.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2006-08-20 20:57|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2006-08-20 20:57|| Front Page Top

#25 The US military reach is global, and by that, I mean anywhere, any time, at the President's call. No one should find comfort in NOT having US assets near their borders.

Word, Old Patriot. And to he|| with this "shock and awe" crap. I want bouncing rubble with lots of room-temperature mullahs plus dead or maimed and dust-covered Iranian physicists crawling out from under it. Round two equals same for Iranian military. Round three means same for their oil pipelines.

Posted by Zenster 2006-08-20 22:15|| 2006-08-20 22:15|| Front Page Top

14:47 Destro in Panama
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