U.S. incapable of turning Iran into another Iraq: defense minister

[acmavm]

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=11/28/2004&Cat=2&Num=8

<snip>

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) –- Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said here on Wednesday that the United States is not powerful enough to turn Iran into another Iraq.

Shamkhani told reporters that the United States is pursuing its own interests through the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and its military presence in the Persian Gulf, but Iran has taken the necessary measures to counter the aggressive U.S. policy.

Iran follows a policy of deterrence, but its defense doctrine is subject to change, he asserted.

<snip>

Asked about rumors that the U.S. is eavesdropping on Iran from its borders, he said that any kind of espionage by the U.S. would be regarded as an act against the national interests of the Islamic Republic.

-NOT MUCH MORE-
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And the rhetoric heats up.

[Deja Q]

1. In other words, 'Bring it on'?

Sigh...

[Maple]

2. Does sound like a

'nyah nyah' doesn't it?

[MatrixEscape]

3. Nothing will stand in the way

of PNAC Man!

[toymachines]

4. this we dont need

he's just going to go and piss off the cowboy. you would think Iran wants to prove something...

[bowens43]

5. Looks to me like he's pissing ON the cowboy.

The more people wand nations who stand up and say 'Fuck Bush' , the better.

[Selatius]

6. The US won't invade Iran, perhaps bomb, but not invade

It's too large a country to occupy. It's three times Iraq's size, with mountainous terrain perfect for guerrilla warfare and a population of 70,000,000. The best the US government could do is either allow Israeli warplanes to fly over Iraq and bomb Iran or do it itself or both. There aren't enough soldiers to invade at present.

However, I would not say invasion is an impossibility, just not likely given present circumstances, which could change drastically depending on events.

[hangloose]

7. We won't invade as stated by others, we just don't have enough

ground troops to pull it off. If it comes to conflict I suspect we will bomb (with the help of Israel) as many hard targets as we can, to include the their missile installations. We of course will not take out all of them and Iran will launch a counter attack on our fleet in the Gulf and our forces in Iran. We will then launch a limited nuclear attack. How do we justify this well (contrived or not) Iran may have nuclear weapons already and one just might go off in a location that has little effect on US forces initiating a retaliatory strike.