# Iran threatens a "pre-emptive strike" against Israel **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 22, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-threatens-a-pre-emptive-strike-against-israel/469100 "2008-10-22T19:04:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-threatens-a-pre-emptive-strike-against-israel/469100/101 "2008-10-29T23:46:55Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Yeah… I believe that solving the problems in the Middle East is the single most important foreign policy goal of the 21st century. It was the single most important foreign policy goal of the 20th century (from the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire on down), and the world as a whole royally fucked it up. > > I don’t want to go another century like this. I don’t want my children’s children’s children to have to grow up in this kind of a world. > And I honestly believe that the Iranian people themselves are the key to solving most of the whole mess. > > Imagine, if you will, that within the next 48 months a totally spontaneous, grass-roots, bloodless revolution takes place in Iran. The people declare that all of their leaders, from the Supreme Leader on down, will be voted for in regular elections. They force their leaders to abandon their nuclear program in exchange for normalized economic relations and foreign aid, and Iran’s economy begins to boom with foreign investment and perhaps even tourism dollars (the country itself has lots of gorgeous vacation spots). The Iranians then fulfill their expressed wishes of peace and good relations with the US and Israel both, as a nation that is aggressively seeking peace would not be turned down by even the most hawkish of American or Israeli governments. > > Then, once that is established, Iran would cease funding, arming, training and giving safe haven to Hamas and Hezbollah. They would even help the rest of the world uncover all the hidden Hezbollah cells (experts estimate the Hezbollah has penetrated both North and South America, Africa, Europe and parts of Asia). > > With Hezbollah and Hamas neutered, the process of engaging in real, honest negotiations between Israel and the PA could take place again. A negotiated settlement along the lines of UNSCR 242 would be reached, with equitable land, water and agricultural rights for both parties (Jordan might even be persuaded to partition off some of the original Mandate territory it now holds along the Jordan river in order to boost the new Palestinian state’s agricultural and water resources, although it would require advances in irrigation technology that the Israelis could probably help with, as they’ve got some of the most advanced irrigation technology in the world. ) The US would also be able to come down hard on Israel and demand a total settlement freeze without making it politically unpalatable in America to come down hard on Israel while Katushas and mortar shells are falling on it like rain. > > Along with helping solve the I/P conflict, Lebanon would no longer be severely destabilized by Iran’s support of Hezbollah. True democracy might have a chance to flourish there. Syria, as well, would be forced to seriously rethink its support of Hezbollah as it would then be the sole sponsor, and uniquely vulnerable to retaliation as Israel could ‘reach out and touch it’ in a way that it cannot currently with Iran due to the distances involved. > > To be sure Wahabism/Salafism would still be virulent and dangerous ideologies, and the battle for the soul of the Middle East would be far from over. But it would be a very, very good start. I’d like to take my children to see the walls of Jerusalem without having to worry about them being blown to pieces. > > And yes, I believe that the argument that Iran should, instead, keep to an aggressive posture, possibly bring on a war by developing nukes, stifle the wishes of the vast majority of its citizens and see the theocrats keep calling the shots… is an utter abrogation of our responsibilities and duties as citizens of this planet. > > /$.02 As much as I would like to see something like this happen, sadly, I do not believe it will. People like the mullahs are not going to go quietly into the night simply due to political pressure, either from abroad or from a disgruntled populace. Modern Iran strikes me almost as being like the Cold-War USSR, less the religion, with people bowing and scraping when they have to, speaking out against their religious/government leaders when it’s safe to do so, and buying things on some kind of a black market. I can almost envision that the Mullahs realize that their time in control is short, and will therefore ramp up their efforts to try to accomplish their primary goal, which in their minds apparently is the elimination of Israel at all costs, with a secondary goal of making us into the bad guy and/or hurting us as much as possible in the process. The kind of religious zealotry the likes of the Iranian leadership, the Taliban, Al-Queda and various other nutjob crazies support is at an extremely high and dangerous level, and should be suppressed wherever possibe, while attempting to portray the moral high ground and offering an alternative view to that way of governenance as a means of escape for people that live under that kind of oppression. The USA has failed miserably in the latter, losing it’s once regarded “shining beacon” status through it’s failed foreign policy choices in the ME, which includes unflinching support for Israel, which isn’t a helper nation in any of this, but can often be an aggressor themselves. I think that actually engaging the Iranians diplomatically would be a good thing, provided there weren’t any preconditioned concessions beforehand for doing so. We also should harden our stance towards Israel to a degree, at least in terms of the billions of dollars of military aid. The USA, the Arab nations and Israel need to all step up and make some concessions to make this thing work. But I don’t see it happening. There will probably be another bloody war, and that right soon. **sigh** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-threatens-a-pre-emptive-strike-against-israel/469100.md?page=5)