BnZ, could you please back up your statement that you consider Iran to be "a bloody awful country", and that those people are uncivilised?
*sigh*
Are you so addicted to the neo-Leftist idiocy of cultural equality you missed the fact that I'm AGREEING with you that the last thing the United States needs is another quagmire?
The whole argument for war(s) in the Middle East is that there are people in X region whom M.A.D. does not deter, indeed, their cultural and religious background teaches many of them to be quite giddy to die while killing you. And their governments may want to give them nukes to do it with... Sorry, but I consider this to be a worse cultural trait than say, the English love of inedible cuisine. Bangers and mash>suicide bombings. "Regime change" and "nation building" here is effectively asking our military, which is the best at proper military tasks (killing people and breaking things) to do something you can't do with bullets and bombs...change people's minds. This is a dead-end street and highly unfair to our soldiers. I will point out that when it comes to changing the Middle East, this is quite literally a miracle Jesus Christ himself apparently couldn't pull off.
Saddam Hussein was a brutal repressive tyrant, who coincidentally managed to keep Iraq semi-under control. Apparently that is what it takes. But the United States is not willing to "go there" to manage the people of Iraq, and I CRINGE at the thought we ever will be. (All this torture talk...it may be blowing smoke at the people to try to look "tough", or at it may be a grim sign we are already on the road.)
So yeah, the last, best reason WHY we shouldn't go in on the ground and try to make Iranians over into Western-style secular democrats is because we will fail, and too many American kids will die in the attempt.
BTW, you are clueless if you think that fellow whose mug is posted in your sig will do anything other than what he is "supposed" to in regards to Iran. Democrat, Republican, bah, looking at the record of the 20th century, the only really unique thing about Iraq and Afghanistan is that these wars were started by a Republican instead of a Democrat. Obama is a peace candidate in the same way McCain is a conservative, I.E, in about the same way a guy wearing a Nixon mask is Tricky Dick himself.
