How long till we bobm Iran

Typo= BOMB


Seems imminent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...401662_pf.html


Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist'
U.S. Moving Against Revolutionary Guard

By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 15, 2007; A01

The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances.

The Bush administration has chosen to move against the Revolutionary Guard Corps because of what U.S. officials have described as its growing involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its support for extremists throughout the Middle East, the sources said. The decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Tehran, as well as U.S. frustration with the ineffectiveness of U.N. resolutions against Iran's nuclear program, officials said.

The designation of the Revolutionary Guard will be made under Executive Order 13224, which President Bush signed two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to obstruct terrorist funding. It authorizes the United States to identify individuals, businesses, charities and extremist groups engaged in terrorist activities. The Revolutionary Guard would be the first national military branch included on the list, U.S. officials said -- a highly unusual move because it is part of a government, rather than a typical non-state terrorist organization.

The order allows the United States to block the assets of terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that "provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists."

The move reflects escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over issues including Iraq and Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran has been on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1984, but in May the two countries began their first formal one-on-one dialogue in 28 years with a meeting of diplomats in Baghdad.

The main goal of the new designation is to clamp down on the Revolutionary Guard's vast business network, as well as on foreign companies conducting business linked to the military unit and its personnel. The administration plans to list many of the Revolutionary Guard's financial operations.

"Anyone doing business with these people will have to reevaluate their actions immediately," said a U.S. official familiar with the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. "It increases the risks of people who have until now ignored the growing list of sanctions against the Iranians. It makes clear to everyone who the IRGC and their related businesses really are. It removes the excuses for doing business with these people."

For weeks, the Bush administration has been debating whether to target the Revolutionary Guard Corps in full, or only its Quds Force wing, which U.S. officials have linked to the growing flow of explosives, roadside bombs, rockets and other arms to Shiite militias in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Quds Force also lends support to Shiite allies such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and to Sunni movements such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Although administration discussions continue, the initial decision is to target the entire Guard Corps, U.S. officials said. The administration has not yet decided when to announce the new measure, but officials said they would prefer to do so before the meeting of the U.N. General Assembly next month, when the United States intends to increase international pressure against Iran.

Formed in 1979 and originally tasked with protecting the world's only modern theocracy, the Revolutionary Guard took the lead in battling Iraq during the bloody Iran-Iraq war waged from 1980 to 1988. The Guard, also known as the Pasdaran, has since become a powerful political and economic force in Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rose through the ranks of the Revolutionary Guard and came to power with support from its network of veterans. Its leaders are linked to many mainstream businesses in Iran.

"They are heavily involved in everything from pharmaceuticals to telecommunications and pipelines -- even the new Imam Khomeini Airport and a great deal of smuggling," said Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations. "Many of the front companies engaged in procuring nuclear technology are owned and run by the Revolutionary Guards. They're developing along the lines of the Chinese military, which is involved in many business enterprises. It's a huge business conglomeration."

The Revolutionary Guard Corps -- with its own navy, air force, ground forces and special forces units -- is a rival to Iran's conventional troops. Its naval forces abducted 15 British sailors and marines this spring, sparking an international crisis, and its special forces armed Lebanon's Hezbollah with missiles used against Israel in the 2006 war. The corps also plays a key role in Iran's military industries, including the attempted acquisition of nuclear weapons and surface-to-surface missiles, according to Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The United States took punitive action against Iran after the November 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, including the breaking of diplomatic ties and the freezing of Iranian assets in the United States. More recently, dozens of international banks and financial institutions reduced or eliminated their business with Iran after a quiet campaign by the Treasury Department and State Department aimed at limiting Tehran's access to the international financial system. Over the past year, two U.N. resolutions have targeted the assets and movements of 28 people -- including some Revolutionary Guard members -- linked to Iran's nuclear program.

The key obstacle to stronger international pressure against Tehran has been China, Iran's largest trading partner. After the Iranian government refused to comply with two U.N. Security Council resolutions dealing with its nuclear program, Beijing balked at a U.S. proposal for a resolution that would have sanctioned the Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said.

China's actions reverse a cycle during which Russia was the most reluctant among the veto-wielding members of the Security Council. "China used to hide behind Russia, but Russia is now hiding behind China," said a U.S. official familiar with negotiations.

The administration's move comes amid growing support in Congress for the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, which was introduced in the Senate by Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and in the House by Tom Lantos (D-Calif.). The bill already has the support of 323 House members.

The administration's move could hurt diplomatic efforts, some analysts said. "It would greatly complicate our efforts to solve the nuclear issue," said Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Center for American Progress. "It would tie an end to Iran's nuclear program to an end to its support of allies in Hezbollah and Hamas. The only way you could get a nuclear deal is as part of a grand bargain, which at this point is completely out of reach."

Such sanctions can work only alongside diplomatic efforts, Cirincione added.

"Sanctions can serve as a prod, but they have very rarely forced a country to capitulate or collapse," he said. "All of us want to back Iran into a corner, but we want to give them a way out, too. [The designation] will convince many in Iran's elite that there's no point in talking with us and that the only thing that will satisfy us is regime change."

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report

[Don "Woody" Woodward]

Here's a good list, just to get them feeling the love:

1 Tehran TEH 7,797,520
2 Mashhad KHR 2,427,316
3 Eṣfahan ESF 1,602,110
4 Tabriz AZS 1,398,060
5 Karaj TEH 1,386,030
6 Shiraz FAR 1,227,331
7 Ahvaz KHU 985,614
8 Qom QOM 959,116
9 Kermanshah BAK 794,863
10 Orumiyeh AZG 583,255
11 Zahedan SBA 567,449
12 Rasht GIL 557,366
13 Kerman KER 515,114

Just so the squids don't feel left out:

[0ILBURNER]

Originally Posted by John McCain

Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.
Went to a mosque, gonna throw some rocks.
Tell the Ayatollah..."Gonna put you in a box!"
Bomb Iran. Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.
Our country's got a feelin'
Really hit the ceilin', bomb Iran.
Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.
Ol' Uncle Sam's gettin' pretty hot.
Time to turn Iran into a parking lot. Bomb Iran...

The sabre-rattling is getting pretty loud these days....

[SanDiegoCJ]

Something's got to me done about Iran, but I have no idea what will work,
and IMO none of the world's governments have a clue either.

[PTSchram]

Maybe, just maybe, we should worry about things like drilling and refining our own oil, securing our borders and ensuring that our children are safe from predators.

If we can get that under control, it won't really matter what happens in Iran, Iraq, etc.

[4in100]

Just make that whole area a big giant glass factory. problem solved.

Originally Posted by PTSchram

Maybe, just maybe, we should worry about things like drilling and refining our own oil, securing our borders and ensuring that our children are safe from predators.

If we can get that under control, it won't really matter what happens in Iran, Iraq, etc.

Agreed!

[mantis]

Originally Posted by PTSchram

Maybe, just maybe, we should worry about things like drilling and refining our own oil, securing our borders and ensuring that our children are safe from predators.

If we can get that under control, it won't really matter what happens in Iran, Iraq, etc.

As a parent of two young boys, and a member of the oil industry, I couldn't agree more



Yes, I am fully aware that the above sentence is a grammatical train wreck.

[PTSchram]

If we were as concerned about what goes on inside our borders, those outside our borders would not be as insistent upon our downfall.

If we stopped paying women to have children (52% of births in Indiana are paid for by the state's FSSA), we would have more folks working, fewer living on welfare, lower demand for illegal immigrants, lower taxes so mothers could remain at home to raise children, our manufacturing base would grow, employing even more of the unemployables, the list goes on and on, but our elected officials and sheep-like citizens don't want to be responsible for their own well-being. As a result, we are in the quagmire (a little liberal lingo for those of you in Rio Linda) we find ourselves in.

Our grandparents didn't have to worry about these issues, because they weren't issues for them!

[nahmus]

Originally Posted by PTSchram

Maybe, just maybe, we should worry about things like drilling and refining our own oil, securing our borders and ensuring that our children are safe from predators.

If we can get that under control, it won't really matter what happens in Iran, Iraq, etc.

agreed.

And from what I've read the people of iran are getting fed up with him. I vote sniper team, 1 shot. problem solved. I don't think the replacement will take such a hard line. If its done right it will look like his own people took him out. He's got pleanty of enemies. Problem is even IF someone else takes him out, unless they are caught we will get the blame anyway so we might as well pick the place and the time.

[SanDiegoCJ]

Originally Posted by PTSchram

Maybe, just maybe, we should worry about things like drilling and refining our own oil, securing our borders and ensuring that our children are safe from predators.

If we can get that under control, it won't really matter what happens in Iran, Iraq, etc.

I disagree totally. Even if we do all the things on your list, what happens in
Iran, Iraq, etc. DOES matter because it affects many other nations. We no
longer have the luxury of being isolationists. That time past decades ago.

[PTSchram]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoCJ

I disagree totally. Even if we do all the things on your list, what happens in
Iran, Iraq, etc. DOES matter because it affects many other nations. We no
longer have the luxury of being isolationists. That time past decades ago.

OK, at least I provided a suggestion for a change in direction, all you did was disagree with me.

BTW-I no longer care who disagrees with me. DRM agreed with ME!

[Mazda4x4]

Many Muslims want to take over the world and spread their religion by any means necessary. You can't just stop globalization. It's here to stay. They will always despise us for our lifestyles.

I predict the next war is a holy one...

[SanDiegoCJ]

Originally Posted by PTSchram

OK, at least I provided a suggestion for a change in direction, all you did was disagree with me.

BTW-I no longer care who disagrees with me. DRM agreed with ME!

I've never cared if anyone agreed with me or not, and I couldn't care less what DRM thinks or says. (I'm sure that's mutual)

BTW, this thread is about what we need to do about Iran, not about what we need to do here.

[gotmuddy]

Originally Posted by Mazda4x4

Many Muslims want to take over the world and spread their religion by any means necessary. You can't just stop globalization. It's here to stay. They will always despise us for our lifestyles.

Sounds alot like Christianity to me, muslims are about 500 years behind the times.

Originally Posted by Mazda4x4

I predict the next war is a holy one...

Until the 20th century almost every war fought was a holy war. It wouldnt surprise me if there was another.

[Serious One]

PT and CJ are funnay when they fight.

[tacoma73]

Originally Posted by gotmuddy

Sounds alot like Christianity to me, muslims are about 500 years behind the times.



Until the 20th century almost every war fought was a holy war. It wouldnt surprise me if there was another.

*yawn*

[CrustyJeep]

Originally Posted by Mazda4x4

They will always despise us for our lifestyles.

I don't buy that for a minute.

They despise us because we're too pushy and put our fingers all over in their affairs. We do that because we (and allies) are dependent on their oil, for the most part.

If it weren't for the oil, we wouldn't give two shits what they do and they would stop worrying about us as well.

[PTSchram]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoCJ

I've never cared if anyone agreed with me or not, and I couldn't care less what DRM thinks or says. (I'm sure that's mutual)

BTW, this thread is about what we need to do about Iran, not about what we need to do here.

I'm glad you took that in the manner it was intended. Us old guys gotta stick together or the kids around here will run us!

But, that said, what we do here has repercussions around the world that cannot be denied. gotta clean house before we can do much else.

[PTSchram]

Originally Posted by Serious One

PT and CJ are funnay when they fight.

We're not fighting, we're having a spirited intellectual (?) debate amongst equals!

Don't you have carpentry or oxygen sensor wiring to be doing?

[lsloth]

Bombing Iran will just make Mahmoud Ahmadinejad more powerful. The only other way for it to happen is if you bomb them back to the stone age, then how are we better off with a 3rd failed country we have toppled and more anarchy in the region.

[SanDiegoCJ]

Originally Posted by Serious One

PT and CJ are funnay when they fight.

Originally Posted by PTSchram

We're not fighting, we're having a spirited intellectual (?) debate amongst equals!

Don't you have carpentry or oxygen sensor wiring to be doing?

You beat me to it. Darn work getting in the way of surfing PBB.

[Mo]

we don't need to do much of anything other than take the reins off Israel

[mantis]

Originally Posted by PTSchram

debate amongst equals!

Don't be so hard on yourself.

[BEN C.]

The situation in Iran has been allowed to fester for for 30 years.
It's too late to do anything overt to change it other than total military conquest and iron fist domination, which we will never do. As much as I hate to think it, we will just have to live with a terrorist state.