We don't forget that. I think, in addition to wanting Tehran to give up it's nuclear ambisions, we want the every day people to rise up against their tyrannical government and see that Tehran is hurting them by going down a destructive path. Change has to happen from within.

I hope Netanyahoo realises what is going on in Iran and gives the sanctions a little more time to wreck havok.

As cruel as sanctions that primarily hit "everyday people" it is good to remember that it is less hurtful than bombs. Sanctions are a way of making "everyday people" wonder why their government cannot get along with other governments and why their government puts itself before its people. And sanctions emphasize to "everyday people" the divisions that leave well-connected Iranians still enjoying the "good life" while they sweat the price of limes.

No, that is what the Iranian government seems to forget.

@FreeThinker-657099
I don't think anyone has forgotten anything.
For every "everyday person", there is probably one nutjob bent on ending our way of life.

I wonder what your solution would be. Warfare? What then would happen to all of your "everyday people"?
Ignore your heart-strings.

"The thing with Iran is that once the price of something goes up, it never comes down again.”

That doesn't just happen in Iran, dear.

As for sanctions, they're clearly having an effect, but until the religious elite begin to suffer, they're likely to turn a blind eye to the plight of their own people for the sake of pride. Same thing the Soviet Union did and North Korea is doing now. The Supreme Leader would rather have nuclear weapons than look after the well-being of his subjects... I mean, followers.

nydoglover is right. It's up to the Iranian people to solve this problem.

FREE what you conveniently forget is that the Iranians are suffering solely due to the actions of their hateful Islamic Government. Until they revolt they're part of the problem and deserve to suffer.

No one forgot... If people starve, maybe they'll revolt against the Idiocy within there Government and remove the problems. The problem IS... Government doesn't care if all there civilians suffer... They'll just turn there nose up and push more harder to prove their "point".

Doesn't matter how much there people suffer... more then half the civilian population can die for all they care, but they will keep pushing for nuclear power for nuclear weapons. Can't fool the world they mean for Civilian use when they have no need for it let alone all the earthquakes Iran endures... Not rocket science.

Keep screwing the pooch Iran.. just remember starving people can't fight wars.

Yes it is too bad we have to make innocent people suffer for the extreme positions taken by their leadership. But we can't be the ones to suffer by having to endure more war as the first means of trying to resolve this problem. So best to try sanctions first. The only problem is that sanctions have utterly failed and are not changing any thing the leadership does. In fact, it has actually sped up their efforts, so now it is a race against the clock. And when the bombs start falling, soon, hopefully the first targets will be the Iranian leadership, so it can end quickly and move forward in a more cooperative manner after the dust settles. Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and company, this drone's for you.

we don't forget that. But "Persian Spring" comes to mind. Maybe all these unhappy and downtrodden Iranians ought to form up in the streets and get the bad guys out of power. It's happening all around the region.

It was all OK when the west needed Persia (Iran) for it's oil, let's remember that Iran is surrounded by very 'hostile forces' to it's East and West, unlike you Americans who can walk down any road in any of your peaceful cities and buy a hamburger, cola and an AK47 to defend yourselves from your neighbours, Iran is being held ransom to Israel and Western paranoia. Iran has the right to defend itself. The Government in Tehran is a wicked one, look at whet the Israeli's are doing to the palestinians, whet the west has done to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Where are the sanctions agains Pakistan, India, Nth Korea, etc etc who all have a newk or three??.

Lets think about this logically. Sanctions starve the people in order to anger them towards the policies of their leadership. Leadership uses propaganda (many times, the death of women and children as pawns) in order to convince these people that America and Israel are evil. Which mindset do you think will prevail?

Restoring respect for America one liberal policy at a time...

How come everyone seems so afraid of Iran getting a nuclear weapon (which even if they are attempting to obtain one they are quite far away from it BTW), but nobody raises an eye brow that the US federal government has boatloads of nuclear weapons and Israel has their fair share as well.

Let's look at it this way, which country has used a nuclear weapon, that also killed hundred of thousands of civilians ?

Two of the three countries above are notorious for waging war and attacking other nations first (US and Israel), and Iran has never attacked another country first.

Does the American federal propaganda machine have us this deaf, dumb, blind, and plain naive ?!?!?

Yep, The OIL sanctions against Americans are working just as planned!

Americans are the people who need to rise up in protest to our government.

If we won't/can't, then how can we expect Iran or any other nations citizenry to revolt?

One more reason for the people of Iran to 'love the West'...

Hatred and oppression only breed more hatred and violence.

Just for fun- Imagine what international trade sanctions against the US would look like.

Now think that China is ending their purchase of our debt, as are others. Add to that the UN and various countries are lobbying for the removal of the US dollar as the currency of trade and replacing it with an international currency. Next, add a China/Japan war, a Middle East war, maybe some African conflict, and add a dash of Russian expansionism. Finally add Europe's financial collapse. All of this adds up to less endorsement of the US and the dollar. The lack of debt buying exposes us to deflation of the dollar (fed printing, selling bonds, buying those same bonds). The debasing the dollar as the measure of trade deflates it's value. The wars puts the US in an interesting position- get involved (expensive), don't get involved(costly- loss in trade, allies, global leadership position). The Eurpean economic collapse takes away our largest trade zone.

Just food for thought. It could happen here.

@Steven,

Pakistan is not currently the suvject of sanctions, but both North Korea and India are. In fact, India is just now coming back into the USD circle of "friends" but will never be an ally because of past sanctions that crippled the Indian economy.

We should treat Israel as an ally and nothing more. As for Iran, with the next round of sanctions in Oct. I think things are about to get ugly...

True. Unfortunately, the argument is that the prospect of a nuclear terror supporting state is not acceptable. As a westerner, I hope that the people of Iran can overcome this challenge. The religious right in the USA is trying to shackle us and proof of that is made ever more so evident by selection of right wing extremist politicians running for office this election year.

Iranian friends, American people aren't your enemy and like your government ours is just trying to do the best to protect us and the world around us. Our government doesn't always make the right calls to the disappointment of its electorate. Sometimes, our leadership is evil or driven by selfish motives. But that can't be mapped directly to the entire nation - much like your religious autocracy and Ahmadinejad can't possibly represent the whole of Iran. The best thing I can say is that perhaps we should be happy President Obama is a much more measured and deliberate leader than say Bush and Netanyahu. Yes, this is the scary prospect the world faces. I am a supporter of any peaceful nation to pursue nuclear freedoms, but it might help to understand how things look at this point with the ridiculous things your leadership tells the worlds on an almost daily basis.

Sanctions look like they are working. As soon as the Iranian leadership figures it out and abandons it's nuclear bomb ambitions, we're all good. Until then, let the professionals (Obama, Clinton) handle the situation. Witless Mitt should shut his yap. He isn't helping at all.

Perhaps someday the United Nations, as well as other nations, will impose sanctions against America to "encourage" its citizens to boot the Republican Party out of office... or else face starvation.

While Iran could stop the sanctions by just ending their nuclear programs, they could possibly turn the lemons into lemonade by insisting their people struggle on a little bit longer so they can finish their arms program and take their revenge against the countries that have harmed them so much.

It's easier to claim their problems are the results of outsiders (which it is) than it is for them to concede that they are the ones in the wrong.

FreeThinker-657099, then maybe they should give up on that "Death to America" and the "Zionist Entity" bullsh!t. All around the Muslim world this kind of cr@p has spawned revolt yet Iran is quiet.

The Mullahs have no qualms of conscience sacrificing their people to get what they want.

comon iran, give up the nuke program already! how far are you willing to go to pursue nuclear enrichment over 20% (thats too high for medical or energy production) for medical and energy production. I know Iran is starving for energy in such an environment where natural resources are so scarce. (while they sit on sooo much oil)..

Get ready the Fed and Ben with zero interest rates for the banks our money will be worthless in the future.

With our real debt and deficit , we are in the same boat .

It couldn't happen to a more deserving Theocracy!

Maybe if they would take the ayatollah khomeini off their money it would be worth more...

Ontor, Da! then tell the House to starting doing something about it. Add tot hat the $4,000,000,000, 000 in wasted war costs for a lost war that has also and a wasted 7,200 good American lives! Thank you GW. Gone, but not gone!

Isn't that odd, wanting Iranians to "rise-up against their tyrannical government", when the people of Iran already had to rise up against one tyrannical government in the last 33 years, which was our highly brutal puppet government there.

Just think: If the CIA hadn't overthrown the lawfully-elected democratic government of Iran back in 1953, and then installed a brutal US-puppet monarch, in order to protect our oil companies investments there, most likely the current reality in Iran wouldn't have happened.

Just think: If the British government had gone ahead and imposed the findings of their Peel Commission report on Palestine in 1937, and/or had enforced lawful Jewish immigration quotas between 1937 and 1947, when the British pulled-out and left over 1 million Palestinian Arab people unable to defend themselves and their property rights, our world wouldn't have a nuclear-armed Israel nor a "Palestinian problem" today either, as today Israel would only be 1/4 of its current size or less, and the other 3/4ths would still be in the hands of Palestine's Arab population, a population native to Palestine which outnumbers Israel's current Jewish population two to one.

So, should America attempt to recolonize Iran in order to prevent them from threatening a nuclear-armed Israel (which also refuses international oversight of its nuclear program), or, should the British government force Israel back to the 1947 UN Mandate boundaries which might also solve not only Israel's bellicose military posturing, but also resolve the "Palestinian problem" once and for all, by giving them back a lot of land that was rightfully theirs to start with too?

Remember how the US was founded? We rose-up against our British colonial government, which is exactly what the Palestinian Arab peoples wanted when they were a British colony too. In 1937 the Jewish population of Israel only occupied 1/20th of what is Israel today, and the rest was either desert or owned by Palestine's Arab population, and had been for thousands of years.

In trying to throw-off their British colonial occupier, instead of winning independence like we did, who would have known that another outside political force would then choose to brutally colonize Palestine, and by military force enact a pogrom of mass Jewish immigration, ethnic cleansing, mass murder of civilians, and forced dispossession, that left over 1 million Palestinian Arabs with only 1/50th of their former country, as well as ever after treat the former residents of Palestine even worse than our African American citizens were treated here before World War II?

Is our problem an Iranian problem, a Palestinian problem, an Israeli problem, or is it a problem that we have a long-running penchant of sticking our nose where it doesn't belong, along with another problem of failing to respect human rights wherever we choose to impose our economic values as well as our unquenchable thirst for oil too?

Should Iran have the same right to the protection that nuclear weapons offer that we take for granted here, or should the rest of the nuclear-armed world force Iran, a nation of 1/4th the population that the US has, (79 million people, almost 20% larger than Great Britain), to continue to enjoy a much less-secure future, because the outlaw nation of Israel feels threatened, or because we are still smarting from when Iran overthrew their own colonial occupier, us?

I would be in-favor of us imposing a Middle Eastern solution fair and equitable to all of the aggrieved parties there, as well as imposing European ethical and human rights values too, but I am not in-favor of trying to re-colonize Iran because Israel is afraid of them.

You want our currency in free-fall also? Going to war against Iran at this point could easily be the last straw that finally breaks our own economic and financial camel's back, as I don't think that we can afford another $10 trillion of wartime debt at this point myself.

Let me ask you: Does Israel's own military-industrial complex need an ongoing conflict now 65 years in the making with Palestine's Arab population and/or with Iran in-order to justify its continued existence, just like our own military-industrial complex needs its own enemies for the same reason too?

One thing is certain: Pacifying Israel and getting rid of the "Palestinian problem" once and for all would be a whole lot less-expensive than re-colonizing Iran would be at this point, and doing so would also lead to better US relations with Israel's Arab neighbors than would overthrowing Iran's government by massive force causing millions more deaths too.

PS: Don't make me get out my sources again, as I can easily put hundreds of reputable world sources up in very short order.

Old Timer#1.35: Very informative and well articulated post. I agree with you. Thank you for sharing. Best regards

Even a bad day can bite.

@Starderup.....Obama?

In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Iran–Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA). Under ILSA, all foreign companies that provide investments over $20 million for the development of petroleum resources in Iran will have imposed against them two out of seven possible penalties by the U.S.:^[2]

• denial of Export-Import Bank assistance;
• denial of export licenses for exports to the violating company;
• prohibition on loans or credits from U.S. financial institutions of over $10 million in any 12-month period;
• prohibition on designation as a primary dealer for U.S. government debt instruments;
• prohibition on serving as an agent of the United States or as a repository for U.S. government funds;
• denial of U.S. government procurement opportunities (consistent with WTO obligations); and
• a ban on all or some imports of the violating company.

IN 1996 Republicans controlled the House and the Senate, looks like it is working......

In June 2005, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13382 freezing the assets of individuals connected with Iran's nuclear program. In June 2007, the U.S. state of Florida enacted a boycott on companies trading with Iran and Sudan, while New Jersey's state legislature was considering similar action.

2005 again was Republican controlled....

From 2009 to 2010, Congress pressed the Administration to impose sanctions against gasoline imports and hold Iranian leaders accountable for human rights abuses – particularly in the wake of violent crackdown on Iranians protesting a stolen presidential election.

President Obama, committed to a diplomatic initiative based on respect for Iran’s leaders, did nothing. He dismissed bipartisan congressional concerns about Iran. As a result, in June 2010, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act, forcing the President to take the Iranian regime seriously.

In 2011, as the Obama Administration’s Iran policy became clearer, 92 Senators wrote to President Obama urging him to impose sanctions against Iran’s central bank. The President ignored the bipartisan cries for action – dismissing it as if it were just more noise from Congress. In response, Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) offered legislation, to force the President to act. Treasury Secretary Geithner strongly and publicly urged opposition to the sanctions. In response, on December 1, 2011, the U.S. Senate – in a stinging rebuke of the failed Obama policy, voted 100-0 to pass the Menendez-Kirk amendment – the very sanctions for which Barack Obama now tries to claim credit

Ave Satani.....move away. People like you are why nations turn communist.

@Dogma,

How about an alternative? How about if Israel is allowed to conduct its own affairs without US assiatance or hindrance until such time as Israel sees the US as an ally. When is the last time Israel stood in support of any action by the US government? An ally is "a state that cooperates for mutual benefit." How exactly does the US benefit again? Louder please, I can't hear you.

Old timer has his head up his a$$. Arabs lived there for "thousands of years"? What a crock of revisionist sh!t. Any Arabs in Judea/Samaria were bedouins who were regional transients, until the Romans forcibly evacuated whole swaths of land & the Arabs moved into the vacuum resulting from the Diaspora.

Seems to forget the majority of the Arabs allied with Nazi Germany during WWII. No mention at all of Jews agreeing to the 1948 partition, only to have every single Arab state reject it, declare war & try to kill all the Jews, BY THEIR OWN STATED GOALS. They tried it four more times over the following 25 years, only to get smacked down each time by the Israelis, without ANYONE'S help. The humiation of the '67 war still burns in them, and I hope it continues to for eons. Palestinians ran to their neighbors (who didn't want them & herded them into ghettos) waiting for each eliminationist war to succeed, and now want the UN to impose what they couldn't obtain by force of arms.

On the afternoon of 8 June 1967, while in international waters off the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula, Liberty was attacked and damaged by the Israel Defense Forces; 34 crewmen were killed and 173 wounded. Although severely damaged with a 39-foot-wide (12 m) by 24-foot-high (7.3 m) hole amidships and a twisted keel, Liberty’s crew kept her afloat, and she was able to leave the area under her own power.

Old Timer-88224

don't try to give a history lesson to these morons who support these criminal sanctions;they are much to ignorant. they wouldn't know operation ajax from the hole in their a**. our government and much of the western word are nothing but israeli/aipac puppets. the persians are suffering for absolutely no reason. netanyahu is a paranoid criminal.

Yep sounds like an ally

While Iran could stop the sanctions by just ending their nuclear programs, they could possibly turn the lemons into lemonade by insisting their people struggle on a little bit longer so they can finish their arms program and take their revenge against the countries that have harmed them so much.

It's easier to claim their problems are the results of outsiders (which it is) than it is for them to concede that they are the ones in the wrong.

Actually all Iran has to do is let the inspectors in, prove they aren't building weapons (if they really aren't ) and the international community would allow them to build nuclear power plants, which is what the SAY they want. The fact that they refuse is very telling.

Hey Old Timer-88224 and a few others: How right you are! Thanks for such a well thought out post.

In the past, how have sanctions worked against other ' enemies ' of the US? Yes, our own currency is headed in the same direction! Yet, ' We the People ' continue to tolerate the lies, propaganda, and manipulation. It's our government's interference in other country's affairs that has brought us to this point. If you keep kicking a snake, it will bite you.

We pretend that the USA is the greatest nation in the world, but this too is a lie. Compared to a country like Australia, we are much worse off! They have not suffered any of the effects of the economic crash as we and much of the rest of the world did. If not for our war-mongering, imperialistic bent, we would be in much better shape. We cannot afford to continue feeding the ' war machine ' the billions of dollars we do every year! Remember, it's just this insanity that brought down Russia and we are headed in the same direction. We ought to be getting ready to revolt against our government for not paying any attention to the vast middle and lower economic classes... it's ' we the people ' who have been ignored and hurt!

Need to vote out the congress and senate who all have been bought by lobbyists! Our government has been co-opted by ' big money ' concerns. It is a dangerous direction in which we are headed! Use your vote in an intelligent manner. Think past the lies and propaganda and ask yourself, what is the hidden agenda. We can return to the US that was intended and good for all of ' we the people ' again.

Mila....

...Seems to forget the majority of the Arabs allied with Nazi Germany during WWII....

Yes they did. Why? Because Hitler promised to rid them of the Brits and allow an Arab state. Kind of don't blame them. But they picked the losing side. Such is the price of war.

Tom,

The President can not issue sanctions with the approval of congress and as you can see he signed it into law. You can you can start or continue any rumor's you like but the fact is The President signed it into law.

In addition to Senators Menendez and Kirk, the amendment was co-sponsored by 52 additional Senators: Senator Ayotte (R-NH), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennet (D-CO), Blumenthal (D-CT), Blunt (R-MO), Boozman (R-AR), Boxer (D-CA), Brown (R-MA), Brown (D-OH), Cardin (D-MD), Casey (D-PA), Collins (R-ME), Coons (D-DE), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R - ID), Feinstein (D-CA), Franken (D-MN), Gillibrand (D-NY), Graham (R-SC), Grassley (R-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Heller (R-NV), Johanns (R-NE), Klobuchar (D-MN), Kyl (R-AZ), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Lee (R-UT), Lieberman (D-CT), Manchin (D-W.Va), Merkley (D-OR), Mikulski (D-MD), Moran (R-KS),Murkowski (R-AK),Nelson (D-FL),Nelson (D-NE), Portman (R-OH), Pryor (D-AR), Risch (R-IO), Roberts (R-KS), Schumer (D-NY), Snowe (D-ME), Stabenow (D-MI), Tester (D-MT), Thune (R-SD), Toomey (R-PA), Udall (D-CO), Udall (D-NM), Vitter (R-LA), Warner (R-VA), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wicker (R-MS), Wyden (D-OR)

I just wish the Republicans would vote on things other than Abortion bills 30+ times and repeal Affordable health care 30+ times everything else they vote no on. Like the 4 bills to help Veterans. If you want to complain about something. Ask Bonner, Why he hates veterans so much?

Msgt USMC Retired

Sorry bout your luck Iran. Could care less. Blame your countries leaders. This is Karma paying you back for sponsoring terrorism. And lying about your nuclear program.

always, the ordinary people suffer because of idiotic and wrongheaded 'leaders.'

I have to ask the question....Why do libs hate Israel so much?

The problem with these sanctions is that the only ones hurt by them are the people living in Iran. You think their all mighty dictator cares if his people live in squalor. No. he'll defiantly defy the world until he is brought to compliance through force. That is really the only way. Negotiations ended a long time ago.

@Mila18,

You are wrong again. There are literally hundreds of permanent cities, towns, and settlements in the immediate Eastern Mediterranean area that go back as far as 12,000 years. Golbekli Tepe was a sophisticated outpost of civilization when Stonehenge was thousands of years in the future. There were actually virtually NO nomadic Arabs in the area that is not Israel. Period.

And the Arab world allied itself with Germany in WWI, not WWII. You missed it by an entire World War.

@Why, where is your proof they voted against Veterans bills? What "rumors"? This is all public information. Either in congressional records or media records. And the Republicans have passed jobs bills in the House...

H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act

• Introduced by Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH) on March 2, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 292-130 on March 31, 2011
• Senate has taken no action to date

H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act

• Introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (MI) on March 3, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 255-172 on April 7, 2011
• Senate has taken no action to date

H.J.Res. 37, a Resolution of disapproval regarding the FCC’s regulation of the Internet and broadband industry practices

• Introduced by Rep. Greg Walden (OR) on February 16, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 240 to 179 on April 8, 2011
• Senate has taken no action to date

H.Res. 72, a Resolution to direct committees to inventory and review existing, pending, and proposed regulations and order from agencies of the Federal Government, particularly with respect to their effect on jobs and economic growth

• Introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions (TX) on February 8, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 391 to 28 on February 11, 2011
• The Senate has not directed their committees to take such action

Fix The Tax Code To Help Job Creators:

H.R. 4, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act

• Introduced by Rep. Dan Lungren (CA) on January 12, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 314 to 112 on March 3, 2011
• Passed the Senate by a vote of 87 to 12 on March 31, 2011
• Signed into law by the President on April 14, 2011

Maximize Domestic Energy Production To Ensure An Energy Policy For The Twenty-First Century:

H.R. 1230, Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act

• Introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings (WA) on March 29, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 266-149 on May 5, 2011
• Senate has taken no action to date

H.R. 1229, Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act

• Introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings (WA) on March 29, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 263-163 on May 11, 2011
• Senate has taken no action to date

H.R. 1231, Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act

• Introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings (WA) on March 29, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 243-179 on May 12, 2011
• Senate has taken no action to date

Pay Down America’s Unsustainable Debt Burden and Start Living Within Our Means:

H.Con.Res. 34, a Resolution establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2012 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2013 through 2021

• Introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) on April 11, 2011
• Passed the House by a vote of 235-193 on April 15, 2011
• Senate has not yet considered a budget of their own

THE LACK OF SITUATIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN A NUMBER OF THESE POSTS IS APPALLING!

These events are all part of a complex set of middle eastern dynamics. Unfortunately, many Americans seem totally unaware that the vast majority of Iran's Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. The definition of an infidel is a 'non-believer?' In the event some may fail to understand the significance of that Islamic command, all followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of their faith so they can have a place in heaven. IN EFFECT THEY HAVE BEEN COMMANDED TO KILL EVERYONE IN THIS CHAT WHO IS NOT A MUSLIM!

Islam's Sharia Law which promotes a prime directive found in the Koran ordering followers to:"Seek out, find and kill all non-believers." Muslims are overtaking and destroying countries like France, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It is this very Sharia Law that dictates beheading, female genital mutilation, stoning of women for adultery, honor killings, forced and arranged marriages, women cannot leave their house without a family male escort, separated swim times at pools for males and females and complete subjugation of women by men.

All homosexuals are to be killed. Abortion is haram and not allowed in Islam, but Muslims are allowed to kill their daughter if she refuses to marry the man they had chosen for her. Muslims also hold to a belief that that it is permissible to steal money and property from non-Muslims in order to distribute it, but if they steal from each other the offender's hands are to be cut off.

The challenges for America are obvious. Time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear program that Israel regards as an existential threat. We’ve come to a very critical juncture where important decisions do have to be made.Iranian leaders have given “no sign of reacting” to sanctions and “no sign of showing flexibility at the negotiating table!

A nuclear-armed Iran would be able to “commit incalculable atrocities” and that the window for diplomacy to avert that “is now almost closed.” America has reached the tipping point in a global conflict in which victory for freedom over world tyranny lays in the balance! Iran is one step away from establishing a nuclear terrorist empire.

In reality, the greatest threat to our nation and the free world is now Iran and Obama‘s weak foreign policy. Once Iran has nuclear weapons, THERE IS NO QUESTION THEIR RADICAL LEADERSHIP WILL USE THEM AGAINST ISRAEL, AMERICA AND AMERICAN INTERESTS AROUND THE WORLD! Many in the intelligence community say “End this dangerous game. Destroy Iran’s terrorist nuclear facilities now. America, Israel, and the Free World will not survive a nuclear-armed Iran!“

Those who are more poorly informed say the threat of a counter attack that will ultimately destroy the entire country of Iran will hold them in check. However, experts in understanding radical Islam suggest Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is mentally unbalanced and hopes to use a nuclear war in a misguided effort to set in motion the return of the 12th Imam.

It is said, “There is a radical difference between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other governments with nuclear weapons. This difference is expressed in what can only be described as the apocalyptic worldview of Iran’s present rulers.” In other words, Iran doesn’t fear retaliation if they attack Israel or the United States because a final global struggle against an evil enemy will present them with the privileges of martyrdom as taught in Islam.”

Death is not a deterrent. Ahmadinejad seems to believe “that the hand of God is guiding him to trigger a series of cataclysmic events which could precipitate the return of the 12th Imam and that these cataclysmic events to prepare the way for Shiite Muslims’ awaited messiah.

This is why many in the intelligence community believe Obama‘s misguided and weak foreign policy combined with what is perceived to be mentally unbalanced leadership in Iran, presents the greatest threat to our nation and the free world in our history! Without strong leadership in the Whitehouse and unless we face Iran now, it is suggested it will not much matter who will be President in 2013.

As a whole, many in the global intelligence community are said to be reeling in disbelief that Americans are seemingly ignorant of the fact they are about to reelect a president who has historically refused to even place his hand over his heart during the playing of America's national anthem! It is believed that a president who will not pledge his allegiance to America presents a clear and present danger not only to his country, but to the global community at large.

NBC, I love you, but you need to hire more editors. This story is riddled with grammatical errors!

The only one I see is the Veteran Job Corps Bill, The bill's sponsor, Patty Murray of Washington, said that the fact that the bill violates last years spending caps it shouldn't matter, since the bill's cost was fully offset by new revenues. She said Mr. Sessions and his party colleagues had been furiously generating excuses to oppose the bill, and were now exploiting a technicality to deny thousands of veterans a shot at getting hired as police officers, firefighters and parks workers, among other things.

Now my question is, why would veterans need a bill to get a job like this? Civilians take training to become police officers, firefighters, park workers and basically any type of job...

well maybe these "everyday people" should have thought about this before electing/supporting hostile and war mongering regimes that constantly seek to destabilize the region with threats of violence.

this "it's my gov i didn't do nothing wrong - please feel sorry for me" rhetoric is getting old. seriously.

So why is Israel ALWAYS MAKING TROUBLE and looking for more bailouts from the US ??

That's not one question. That's actually the question and answer in one:

Q: Why is Israel always making trouble?

A: looking for more handouts from the US!

the West is trying to maintain peace in the region and not only these people did nothing to contribute to this effort they even had the audacity to cry victim.

maybe we should send a few nukes their way and show them what it would REALLY be like to be victims.

@Tom,

Thank you for your reminder post about the USS Liberty.

In 1967 I was an intelligence analyst with the European Watch Center in London. My area of specialty was the Southwestern USSR Air Defenses. The Liberty was a brand new intelligence ship just out of refit from being a WWII-vintage cargo ship. It was still in shakedown. Their first duty station was to be the Black Sea. The Radio Intercept Operators came to London for requirements briefings (where analysts tell the diddy-bops what they are looking for.) These were all fresh-faced guys in their late teens and early 20's. And they surely loved London's pub crawling scene.

But on their way to the Black Sea they were diverted to monitor Egyptian radio traffic. And the IDF attacked them. I have listened to tapes of the IDF pilots and PT boat commanders knowingly and willingly killing American seamen on an American ship. I agree with Dean Rusk who called the Isreali version of the events as "paper vomit."

If you want to help remember the USS LIberty and the outrageous actions of our "ally", here is where you can listen to the survivors in their own voices: http://www.ussliberty.org/voices.htm

Let them eat cake, until heads roll , nothing changes. Good luck and God Speed.

In the 20th century there was this one country that had this same currency problem, let's call it Germany and there arose a leader who created a great war machine to instill national pride and he was able to blame it all on the Jews. This is just history repeating itself, oh and America we need to fear and respect Karma.

We had the chance for the people of Iran to overthrow their government but our poor excuse for a leader threw them under the bus.

Has anyone noticed that MSNBC is like a puppet. When Obama tries to make a point they run a story to speak his words and make his point for him.

Hmmm??? wonder where he puts is hand?

Carmen...is yours the only way to change government??? go to war. We have done that in Afghan. and Iraq to what avail? We helped Libya with planes to little avail except to get our ambassador killed. We supported Egyptians only to see the Brotherhood come to power. Exactly what would you have had us do? How in the hell did Obama throw the people of Iran under the bus. WHAT is your solution? I can't wait to hear the right wing answer on this one!

JoeNY

Just for fun- Imagine what international trade sanctions against the US would look like.

Now think that China is ending their purchase of our debt, as are others. Add to that the UN and various countries are lobbying for the removal of the US dollar as the currency of trade and replacing it with an international currency. Next, add a China/Japan war, a Middle East war, maybe some African conflict, and add a dash of Russian expansionism. Finally add Europe's financial collapse. All of this adds up to less endorsement of the US and the dollar. The lack of debt buying exposes us to deflation of the dollar (fed printing, selling bonds, buying those same bonds). The debasing the dollar as the measure of trade deflates it's value. The wars puts the US in an interesting position- get involved (expensive), don't get involved(costly- loss in trade, allies, global leadership position). The Eurpean economic collapse takes away our largest trade zone.

Just food for thought. It could happen here.

the flaw in your scenario is this....we dont wait for someone to tell us what to eat, when to sleep, when to pray and how much, ...so basically we, have been groomed to support and think for ourselves...and we do really good during tragedy...really good! So omg we have to make our own things and create our own supportive industries....well got one for ya....we have many times over..and we would do it again...see..we Americans have evolved beyond following someone blindly, for the most part. We Americans own our shops, not our tyrannical gov...we Americans own the industries that would be needed to live on...our government owns things that are thin air...(insurance, banks, wallstreet, etc) so they would be at a loss not the Americans that know how to chop wood, saw boards. We are a supportive nation...right now we just think its cheaper to hire outsiders...but it will come back...we wont need to call someone in India for banking info if your scenario plays out

Fellow Conservatives: Do not let the Criminals in the leftest Media sweep this DISGRACE Benghazi Gate!

The leftest Hammered Nixon for something so minuscule

Yet they are doing a 100% COVER-UP for this Abomination in the middle east! Keep the pressure on Fox to report this!

Also.....Why not contact NBC-ABC-CBS and let them know the American ppl are watching!

Hey Kristian, perhaps you need to do some reading?

http://www.iranchamber.com/history/coup53/coup53p1.php

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol48no2/article10.html

The truth is probably somewhere between these two sources.

http://www.iranian.com/History/June98/SAVAK/index.html

http://www.fas.org/irp/world/iran/savak/

Which oil companies were ultimately behind the 1953 US/CIA coup in Iran?

http://vi.uh.edu/pages/buzzmat/htdtisirancoup.html

Kornfed: Because Israel's "official" history so greatly conflicts with an alternate history of Palestine and its peoples that many thousands of highly-reputable news resources around the world report on a daily basis. Israel is an outlaw nation founded by genocide directed against the vast majority of Palestine's population by Jewish settlers, a problem that has never been addressed by the UN, because the US has steadfastly prevented any such inquiry or sanctions.

Tell you what, do your own research, just look-up History of Palestine, 1900 to 1950 on Google. There are almost 11 million sources to choose from, only a few of which support the official Israeli history, which almost certainly is propaganda.

Here are a few more sources to start with:

The Palestinian - Israeli Ethnic Conflict for Beginners:

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story725.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story574.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story571.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story580.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story448.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story578.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story1261.html

Here is an extensive history of Jewish ethnic cleansing of Palestinian cities, towns, and farms that would take years to fully digest. If you want to keep making arguments based on the legitimacy of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced dispossession, there is plenty more where this came from:

http://www.palestineremembered.com/OralHistory/Interviews-Listing/Story1151.html

Also, is it true that the Jewish "Stern Gang" in Palestine received funding from Hitler to attack British forces in Palestine during World War II?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4667.htm

http://iamthewitness.com/doc/Bunche.Report.on.Zionist.Terrorism.in.the.Near.East.htm

Israel was founded by a bunch of terrorists, the facts are pretty clear. Between the date of the 1947 UN Mandate for the division of Palestine into Jewish and Arab spheres of influence, Jewish terrorists embarked on a pogrom of ethnic cleansing, mass murder, mass rape, and forced dispossession and expulsion of a population of Palestinian Arabs then over 1 million people, who had lived there for thousands of years.

Just between the date of the British Peel Commission report in 1937, and the date of the UN Mandate in 1947, over 700,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine illegally. In physical size, Palestine (Israel) is roughly the same size as the State of Massachusetts, and the Peel Commission would have given 2/3rds of the available land to the Palestinian Arabs, who refused the offer, on the grounds that it gave the Jews too much land. In 1937 and again in 1939 after the British White Paper also would have divided Palestine into Arab and Jewish spheres of influence, in both cases, the Jews present in Palestine at that time agreed to both partition plans, both of which would have given a Jewish State between 1/4 and 1/3 of the land.

Even after 10 years of massive illegal Jewish immigration to Palestine had been tolerated by the British colonial government, the 1947 UN Mandate still would have given Palestinian Arabs more than half of the available land to start their own country, and the reasons that the Palestinians have never seen their human rights questions addressed by the UN since 1947 is because US Jews heavily financed the Israeli Jews in their violent quest to rid Palestine of its native Arab population between 1947 and 1949, and ever since then Israel has been heavily supported by US military and economic development funding, (read our tax dollars).

List of UN resolutions involving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel

Please look at the sources that make up both of these reports at the bottom of each page.

http://qumsiyeh.org/usvetoedcountlessunsecuritycouncilresolutions/

It is little wonder that many Arabs so hate us, and so little wonder that so many Iranians do too. So how do we get from where we are now, to a future where the Palestinians are fairly dealt with, which can only involve either giving them a substantial part of Israel back, or, maybe we could just make all of them Americans instead, and give them all of the open land between the southern LA suburbs and the northern San Diego suburbs instead, which has a climate fairly similar to that of Israel?

Why so abuse one population in favor of another population, based mostly on religious grounds, and somewhat on the fact that Israel is a capitalist nation like we are, when our own motto is freedom and justice for ALL??? Where is justice or freedom for the Palestinian Arabs, which were both stolen from them by Jewish terrorism with our continuing help? Wouldn't it make you upset if a bunch of religious terrorists stole your property, raped your wife and daughter and killed your sons, and then forced you to march in the hot summer sun for 15 miles to reach the front lines of territory held now by your government?

http://www.1948.org.uk/the-massacres/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_and_massacres_during_the_1948_Palestine_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Palestinian_exodus

Are you proud as an American citizen to have perpetrated this horror on an entire nation of innocents?

Would you like to see justice done? I'm a White American citizen by birth, highly educated, very liberal, and I certainly would like to see justice done on the side of the Palestinian cause. I also believe that it is within our power to impose a just and fair solution on all of the involved parties too, one where that part of our world might move toward the day where all residents of that area might be able to respect each others hopes, dreams, and desires equally and without prejudice.

Kornfed, you asked, and I hope that you will support my answer too.

I was reading an 1967 national geographic yesterday at Bookmans...wow did you know that muslim was spelt moslem? January issue 1967 vol. 131 No.1: amazing info on the ME. If only Pakistan would have turned out like the good people wanted...too bad they had such high hopes for the future then

It is sureal watching the MSM cover up this SCANDAL! Benghazi Gate!

Do not allow this ~!

Americans were SLAUGHTERED! 17% of the American ppl aren't sure what happened!

Hold their feet to the fire~ 1. WHY was there NO protection? 2. When did Obama know? 3. What did He know? 4. WHY did HE LIE!!! 5. Why is the FBI sitting on their hands? (stalling)

Even John Kerry signed the letter to Obama Wanting answers! 10 Dems & 9 Republicans have joined in trying to get the TRUTH! Keep the heat on FOX & the Obama Media~ Our lives are at stake! Iran is one year from getting a NUKE!

nydoglover (lovedaname) and AG: Yes, and the trouble is we can't even help the Iranian people in any "Spring" - even less so than Syria. All we need to get is some cooperation with inspections to verify their nuclear promises are being kept. Egyptian President Morsi said the world must be granted as much. I hate that the Iranian public suffers for a government which is so rigidly isolationist and uncooperative with so many other nations.

Blame. Control. Manipulation. America's federal government in action. We'll throw more soldiers at the problem. We'll pass more 'laws'. We'll continue to play 'tough guy' politics with foreign governments who don't bow to us and buddies with whom we wish to control. We'll continue to hand out money we don't have. We'll continue to borrow money from China, who owns us. We'll continue to play favorites based on what each fickle and manipulating administration agenda decides. We'll continue to fight over which presidential candidate 'really, really, no really' has 'our' best interests at heart. News flash. If you don't vote for a Liberty candidate, you won't have any liberty at all. There are two - Ron Paul and Gary Johnson. They don't want to run your life, they want you to do it through the administrative help of leadership that promotes only one thing - the freedom you were promised in your Constitutional Republic, under law. Same laws for everybody. Imagine that. And yes, returning to freedom when the brainwashing of blame, control and manipulation has become so second nature is scary. More scary than where we are now? Freedom. Get some. It's still yours for the taking.

Old Timer-88224

i couldn't read your post it was too long. but i caught some of it...

Old Timer-88224 do you realize these people have been murdering for thousands of years for one reason or another? mostly land as if its the 1700's or earlier..

This story about the ME, Arab, Israel, etc has been RE-PLAYING THOUSANDS OF TIMES OVER since those murders came to being....

You cannot change them, i cannot change them, Mr. Obama has no word on this, we cannot help them, Russia could not help them, Charley Wilson gave them weapons in hope to change them...they always revert back to savagery

Love2troops please provide some links...or a site name thanks

This is as bad If Not Worse than IRAN CONTRA

Every American should be appalled by this COVER UP!

Liberals GET AMERICANS SLAUGHTERED ~ Tell (twitter-Email) the MSM and FOX we want answers!

EXpose Benghazi Gate!!! Make the MSM do their Damn Jobs!

nydoglover

We don't forget that. I think, in addition to wanting Tehran to give up it's nuclear ambisions, we want the every day people to rise up against their tyrannical government and see that Tehran is hurting them by going down a destructive path. Change has to happen from within.

I seriously doubt that. In the eyes of Iranians, we are evil bad Americans who screwing them over with crippling sanctions. And the longer this sanction goes on...... the more and more the population will hate us.

Chris -749391

Thank you for that link and as always your insight and experience as well.

Olr Timer,

Fantastic post. People here in the US have no idea what is really happening. I urge everyone to look at the slide show link in the article and then ask yourself if this looks like a nation of Islamic nut cases. Iran is a very modern country, people there really have a pretty good life. The government there actually does a far better job of taking care of its less fortunate people than we do. One might even argue that in some ways better than here. Look at those pictures and just change the faces and what you're looking at is not so far from us. I think in many ways the Iranian people look at their Ayatollah, not much different than Britain looks at its monarchy. Sure these people are economically suffering somewhat, but join the club, so is most of the rest of the world. The question is who they balme the suffering on.

No doubt these sanctions are having an impact, but until we force formal, televised negotiations with Iranian leaders, the people there are not about to overthrow their government. Most probably really have no real understanding of the issues. These are people who for years have lived in a society not all so different than a typical Western economy know that they are seeing what amounts to a relatively minor recession. Until their government runs out of money, things won't likely change much and if in the process we drive them back into the stone ages, these people are likely to move in the opposite direction of what we'd like them to. The trouble is that they have a small sect of radicals that have control of the government, but they aren't imposing radical ways on the people.

In most other Islamic countries with radical beliefs a young woman with her face exposed, wearing pants and sporting nail polish, would be stoned to death. But that's not how it works in Iran. After the Shah was overthrown and under Rafsanjani followed by Mohammad Khatami, Iran really came into the modern ages and short of achieving a more democratic government, Iran made great strides. When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took over things went the wrong way again. Ahmadinejad is really more of a puppet for the Ayatollah, but he did not set back many of the economic strides made before him. Nor did he push for more theocratic style rules. It is debatable as to whether or not he really won a second term and Iranian protests essentially kept him under control as in regards to Iranian citizens after the Ayatollah essentially pulled a "Supreme Court" ruling in Ahmadinejad's favor.

Their next election takes place next summer. If anything, the sanctions will have a negative effect on the election of another conservative. Ahmadinejad is out because of a two term limit. Who emerges as the more liberal of moderate candidate remains to be seen. The Ayatollah still has overall authority, controls foreign policy, military, etc., but the President can exert a strong influence. In theory, the President is mainly the domestic leader, but serves as the voice of the Supreme Leader.

The problem in Iran is not so much the President, but the Ayatollah. He's not elected by the people. To overthrow him would be about as unlikely as everyone in the US rejecting God. Khamenei was a big part of the original revolution overthrowing the Shah. He pretty much has the authority to assume authority wherever he sees fit. To some extent, you can see some logic to his foreign policy positions. He has little trust for the US based on his experience in overthrowing the Shah, who was a US puppet. And in regards to nuclear weapons, he has bad memories of the Iran Iraq war, when we were backing Iraq and Saddam had no problems using chemical weapons against Iran killing more than 100,000. When you see a war being lost because the other side uses WMD against you, you might get a bit defensive and want some of your own for protection. He can see a need to protect himself from others in the region, the Israelis and the US. So in a lot of respects, his logic based on history is far from being insane.

All that said, the Iranian citizens still have an influence even through they have no mechanism to replace him. Their main voice would be expressed through the President and ideally a President who also has some religious credibility. In a lot of respects though, the Ayatollah has the ability to shield himself from the direct influence of the public. He can play a behind the scenes role and let the President take any flak from the people for the decisions he makes. It is a screwed up situation because in a lot of ways he has no accountability. Likewise we should understand that taking a aggressive stance against Iran will just reinforce his distrust for the West. Ultimately, he is the guy who's mind we need to change. That said, I really think our strategy for a long time has been misguided. We give him little reason to trust us, but instead we primarily use any influence we have to threaten. In some respects, we and the UN would be better off rejecting any negotiations with anyone but him. Ahmadinejad is nothing but an emissary with no real power. The formal government of Iran really has no authority so it may be pointless even talking with them.

Bombing them isn't the answer. Sanctions can and will help, but only to a point. The key to good negotiations though, are negotiating with the right guy.

I seeded this link for the Bengazi Obama admin scandal

http://roadlesstraveled.newsvine.com/_news/2012/09/28/14141071-the-benghazi-scandal-widens-conservative-news-views-amp-books

KingK - Yes it is too bad we have to make innocent people suffer for the extreme positions taken by their leadership.

What "extreme positions"? Iran is an NPT member and has the absolute right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. So far the IAEA says that's all they've done.

The US is harming Iranian civilians for doing what they have the right to do.

I kind of remember an island nation being put in similar circumstances and reacting very poorly about it.. They attacked some harbor about 4k miles from the U.S.

I can not believe that what starts as a discussion ends up as a condemnation of Israel. What is up with you anti-semantic but wipes? Is it the fact that you find that the only democratically elected power in the middle east is so against your socialistic ideology that you can not handle it? Do some of you think that there is no cooperation between the two nations? Or are you forgetting that most of Israel advances are worked together between the US and Israel? And to bring up the USS Liberty is stupid because there was a war going on there at the time, I do not know about you but most people with a ounce of sensibility tells us that it is never a smart thing to send a war ship into a middle of war zone, mistakes happen.

But this article is about Iran, and the answer to the problem is profoundly easy. Do what the Libyans did and stop production of enriched uranium and all the problem cease. This went real well for them until Obama decided to throw in our towel with the Arab Spring and so far that has not worked out so well. Other then turning on people who were trying to make peace with us, our administration gave weapons and aid to groups that have openly called for our destruction. Personally I do not know how we are expected to succeed with Iran when our own leadership is hell bent on taking care of our destruction from within.

In Iran, sanctions bite and currency collapses. But the centrifuges keep on running.

It is the belief of the Iranian fanatics that all sanctions will come to an abrupt end as soon as they announce to the world they have nuclear warheads. This is the reason sanctions, however draconian, will never work.

Netanyahu knows this but Obama is in his usual state of denial.

Tbenton - I can not believe that what starts as a discussion ends up as a condemnation of Israel.

It's only Israel which refuses to join the NPT, has secret built hundreds of nuclear weapons, has repeatedly threatened its neighbors, and has bombed the lawful nuclear facilities of NPT states.

Sounds like a militarily aggressive rogue state, and not a country to be trusted.

I wish isreal would be exposed of their secret nuclear program that they dont admit or deny! One that they will not let the IAEA inspect...and they dont sign the npt, yet there is nothing...no sanctions on them,...and with all the false flag attacks thety have done since the 50's....yet we stll consider them a peaceful nation....NO they are just good at not getting caught, and when they do get caught, we turn a blind eye, because AIPAC is the largest lobbyist with the greatest connections in our politics.

I would love to see Iran's headlines tomorrow say "Nuclear power still in progress, however Nuclear BOMB is complete...AND we have several" I would love to see the bully israel whimper away like the little corrupt bully they are!

TalkdeTalk

@FreeThinker-657099

I wonder what your solution would be. Warfare? What then would happen to all of your "everyday people"?
Ignore your heart-strings.

What he said was not deserving of your accusation.

He said:

FreeThinker-657099 Comment collapsed by the community

What Americans seem to forget, is that there are everyday people just trying to get by, on the other end of our politics.

I am far from a bleeding heart, but what he said is correct. About 55,000,000 people in Iran think their "leader" is a POS. If that jerk starts a war, the rest of them will pay the price. That is a shame.

If he launches nukes though, bye,bye to all those decent folks though.

Hey Iran; Get the Green Revolution up and going again. Take this one directly into their homes. The street protests just bring out the snipers. Squads of 6 can do a lot of damage, and retreat to safety.

Posted by Tbenton

I can not believe that what starts as a discussion ends up as a condemnation of Israel. What is up with you anti-semantic but wipes?

I actually resent your remark. I grew-up in northwest suburban Detroit and east-suburban Cleveland and I have lots of American Jewish friends. I am against any nation guilty of genocide, mass-murder, mass-rape, and forced dispossession, which includes Israel. How about the world community forcibly round-up the responsible parties in Israel and see that justice is done, just like the current war crimes trials going against certain Serbian Christian military and political leaders for their genocidal acts in Bosnia and Kosovo, also directed against the native Muslim community there?

Why is it when anyone tries to question Israel in any way they are immediately accused of being anti-Semitic?

T. Benton: Let's see you try to defend this horror as a radical supporter of Israel? Remember the famous Bataan death march directed against US troops that surrendered at Corregidor during World War II, an action later prosecuted as a serious war crime? How come Israel and its supporters fail to care whatsoever about the events perpetrated on the Palestinian Arab residents of Lyddia and Ramla, when Jewish "war heroes" slaughtered hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians and then forced 60,000 people to embark on their own version of the Bataan death march to reach the Arab front lines in the summer sun without water, during which hundreds more died enroute?

Moshe Dayan is an international war criminal, and so is your former President Begin too, and this fact is not negotiable. Israel was founded through egregious genocidal criminal action, and this fact is not negotiable either. So quit trying to play the victim role and let's get on with both seeking justice and remediation for the millions of victims of Jewish murderers and terrorists, both during the foundation of Israel in 1937-49, as well as on a continuing basis ever since then.

What Hitler and his henchmen did to European and Russian Jewry during World War II does not in any way justify what the Jews did to the native Palestinian Arabs during the foundation of Israel, nor does it justify a continuing criminal human rights violation toward the native Palestinian peoples either, who have every justification in the world to still be angry at Israel and to try to repossess what was stolen from them to this day.

Believe me, I didn't say anything that I would view as anti-Semitic either! All that I want, as a follower of the Freedom and Justice for ALL creed, is fair and responsible treatment for everyone involved, and for justice to be served, in a fair and equitable manner, regardless of long-standing religious hatred, possessive precedent, or historical prejudices, if our tax dollars are required to fund anything or anyone including Israel, and obviously, Israel is guilty of failing to abide by such a standard too.

It appears that I neglected to add my Lyyda and Ramla massacre sources to my post above:

http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/event.php?eid=244

http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/art.php?aid=1877

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Famous-Zionist-Quotes/Story739.html

http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/al-Lydd/Story761.html

Here is another story of Jewish terrorist ethnic cleansing in Jaffa in 1948:

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Jaffa/Jaffa/Story202.html

Please, Mr. Benton, I would just love to hear you try to defend these events or the Jews involved in them!!! I just can't wait to hear how the victims were anti-Semitic too, so they somehow deserved what your nation did to them!!!

I will say it again: Israel is guilty of massive war crimes and genocidal actions in its foundation, and justice has yet to be served by the international community in a responsible manner.

Everything that has happened to Israel since its illegal foundation is a direct consequence of its genocidal actions against the legitimate Palestinian Arab population between 1937 and 1949.

Please, why? I would love to discuss your answers in a reasoned and non- anti-Semitic adult manner, as what Israel’s founders did is non-defendable in my educated opinion from a war crimes standpoint based on international law!

Here is the continuing story of a 15 year old Canadian citizen who was the youngest Guantanamo Bay inmate, who has already served 10 years in prison for a war crime that killed a single US soldier:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/29/14151587-gitmos-youngest-and-last-western-detainee-returned-to-canada?lite

Tell me why Ben-Gurion, Begin, Moshe Dayan, and Rabin should not be behind bars for life, as all are guilty of mass-murder of civilians, and why Jaffa, Lydda, and Ramla, as well as a defensible buffer, should not be returned to Palestinian control, forcibly by the power behind international law, if necessary, as well as some serious war reparations paid too?

Yes! The whole world is in league with Obama to keep the republicans down!

What's bad about the right wing boo-hooing over using sanctions is that they said exactly the same thing before the Second Iraq War. Sanctions were not working then either. And when we invaded we found that the sanctions had devastated the country to the point that it has still not recovered. The difference was that when the righties invaded Iraq, we became "you broke it and you own it."

Wow, so you are saying the the U.N. and the E.U. are using Iran as a scapegoat to prop up the U.S. President? Well, that is an /interesting/ accusation.

Especially the countries where he dazzled them with his personality and depth of knowledge.

Allahu akbar!!!

Once China finishes building the two refineries in Iraq, which they are bartering for oil, Iran will not have the expense of buying back their oil after someone else refines it. Things will look a lot better there, and the sanctions will not "technically" be violated.

What I don't understand is that if Obama is winning in a slam dunk, why is this not totally accurate rah-rah stuff being published so frequently? I guess the media can laugh all the way to the bank when they first got us to elect a relatively green and unknown Senator as President, and now are going to convince us to re-elect him even though we know he has us on an unsustainable path.

So, Maxman, if you think we should start another war, then just say so.

So naive, I can't believe most Americans think Democrat or Republican makes a difference ! Newsflash, they both work against the best wishes and needs of the American people.

STOP VOTING !!!!!!! Maybe then they will get the message.

There is no proof of Iran even making a nuke. Everyone wants to cry about them getting a nuke but says nothing about Israels hundreds of undeclared nukes. We are going after the wrong country. Too many Americans have died for Israel.

@Buster.

Remember the USS Liberty. I had friends on that ship who were killed by the IDF.

Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon and they cannot manufacture a weapon because the IAEA monitors all their enrichment. If Iran attempts to enrich beyond 20%, America and the worls will immediately know. Can you mentally challenged awipes figure that out?

America should remove sanctions, begin trade talks with Iran and tell the Israelis to take a flying leap. Americans are sick of supporting their lazy parasitic a$$es. We have squandered more than 123 billion dollars on them and fought the war in Iraq, which will cost in excess of 3.5 trillion dollars and the loss of over 4500 soldiers. More than 360,000 soldiers have brain injuries according to Pentagon sources.

The Israel spent 0 dollars and lost not one soldier in Iraq, yet it was Zionists, close to the Likud government of Israel, who planned and sold the war. The Mossad was instrumental in providing much of the false intelligence about WMD.

Zionist
warmongers like Ken Adelman and the Zionist Washington Post pushed the war in
an editorial titled, “Cakewalk in Iraq.” Jewish supremacists Richard Perle and
Paul Wolfowitz told you that Iraq would “Welcome us as liberators.” Iraq became
the longest war in American history. Here is a report from USA Today: “Pentagon
officials estimated for the first time Wednesday that up to 360,000 Iraq and
Afghanistan veterans may have suffered traumatic brain injuries.” Now that’s
not counting tens of thousands who have suffered maiming, amputations, or death
in this war based on lies.

Not sure what wind turbines have to do with oil sanctions in Iran. However; each wind turbine produces enough energy per year to meet the typical electrical needs to 1,000 households. And there is even enough left over to light up the little red light on top.

@Coal man,

And why then is the US a net exporter of oil? (That means that we already produce more than we use.) I'm told by the GOP in strict confidence that "clean coal" is absolutely delicious with a light Hollandaise sauce.

And wind farm transformers are no more expensive then the transformers used for small developments and shopping malls. Substations have life expectancies of over 75 years, they pay for themselves. m Investment in the transmission and distribution system is going to be needed in the next 10 years no matter what form of generation we use. Your comment was lacking in any real knowledge of the subject.

Thanks paid shill... any more partisan bull**** to post on the wrong board or can the adults talk now?

No our dollar is losing it's value and our economy is falling apart because our politicians allow their corporate bosses to make everything we buy overseas with no taxes, tariffs, or anything.

Meanwhile the only products made in America off American sweat are weapons and trash.

Our dollar is NOT "losing its value" and our economy is NOT "falling apart." This country has the strongest currency in the world and the largest and most vibrant economy in the world. While countries such as China and India are faltering, the US is continuing to pick up steam. While countries like Japan have not been able to reciver even an inch from 1990, the US economy, even with eht Bush Depression, has almost doubled since then.

I will guarantee that in the picture of the Iranian money-changer 's wad of rials, there is a wad of US currency to be exchanged.

And the national debt. The national debt clock that Romney/Ryan carry around is unmitigated BS. Period. The United States government owns $188 TRILLION in "stuff" --- buildings, roads, aircraft carriers, bombs, tanks, bridges, national parks, land, etc. The national debt is $16 trillion --- 8.5% of real assets. If you subtract the national debt from the national assets, you get $172 TRILLION owned by the American people. If you divide that by the population, 312 million, you get assets of over a HALF MILLION DOLLARS for each living American, not some absurd debt.

This is a great country. There are people, mostly Republicans, who hate it and everything about it. And they will pay dearly on Nov 6th for that belief and lack of basic patriotism. They will NOT win the Presidency. They will NOT get control of the Senate. And currently the RNC is pumping millions in the House races of Boehner and Ryan to keep them from being unseated. The Democrats now even have a chance (slim but many times larger than Romney's chance at the Presidency) of retaking the House.

Fouy more years of Obama plus eight years of Hillary will give the GOP plenty of time to reflect on their sins.