I am glad to hear it but am very disappointed that the missing retired FBI agent is not apparently included in this supposed swap.
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Iran Detains 10 U.S. Navy Personnel
- Thread starter HH-60H
- Start date
I am glad to hear it but am very disappointed that the missing retired FBI agent is not apparently included in this supposed swap.
I must have missed the part where they engaged in "good analysis" on that site. Seriously.
Redux
Well-Known Member
Read slower flash.
It was a joke.
Redux
Well-Known Member
Quoted for truth..........
Given the history of the IRGC, that’s probably all lies. If it isn’t… it’s a damn good thing that John Paul Jones, David Farragut, and Arleigh Burke aren’t alive to see it.
The quick and painless release leads to the question of who is winning the battle in Iran between the hardliners and the moderates - this would lead you to believe the moderates.
An interesting perspective on Iran.
And a completely superfluous picture of everyone's favorite American of Iranian descent, Catherine Bell.
An interesting perspective on Iran.
And a completely superfluous picture of everyone's favorite American of Iranian descent, Catherine Bell.
The Corps claims her in a fake tv military sort of way..........Semper Fi!!!!!!!!!!!! We all know in our hearts that she went thru TBS.
I have a pretty broad sense of humor, but our guys (and gal) were captured by a country that chants "Death to America" with regularity. I fail to see the humor in that. You have any jokes about our Vietnam POWs?
Pay particular attention to the last three paragraphs. I understand this idea may be anathema to some, but take the long view and think about it. If you're picking a dance partner for tonight... meh, Saudi will do - I suppose. If you're picking a dance partner for the next 30 years.... You're probably going to want to think a little harder about that choice.
Feldman's article is quite good. The US shale oil revolution was also a big factor in this as Saudi oil is not as important as it used to be. Even if oil prices are down, way down, the technology is now proven and can be restarted anytime that oil prices become high enough to make it profitable - not sure when we will ever see oil at $100 a barrel again. Good for the airline guys, not so good for the helo bubbas.
Speaking of the long view and the shaky ground the Saudis sit upon...
And that "long view" might not really need to be all that long...
The future of American influence the in region does not run through the kingdom.
And that "long view" might not really need to be all that long...
The future of American influence the in region does not run through the kingdom.
The House of Saud made a deal with the Devil at the very beginning, when they teamed up with Abd al-Wahhab in order to conquer the Arabian Peninsula. So now, you have fundamentalist and antidemocratic Sunnis on one side of the Gulf. Ironically, you have fundamentalist but arguably less anti-democratic Shiites on the other side of the Gulf. Neither really gives a rip about human rights as the West would imagine them.
Our relationship with the Saudis was always a marriage of convenience; they had the oil. And there was no way we would have gotten any traction in the other direction after the massive fuckjob the CIA pulled off in overthrowing Mossadegh. Honestly, at this point, I think if that whole mess goes high-order, coming down on one side or the other isn't the solution. That feud has been going on since Hassan and Hussein were killed at Karbala, and right now our main focus is to keep the thing from going nuclear, because God help us then.
Our best bet long-term is to find a way to fund and steer people towards those brands of the faith that don't involve sex slaves or mass shootings. This whole "ISIS really isn't Islamic, because my professor told me so" bullshit doesn't help. They are Islamic, but they, the Saudis, and the mullahs aren't the only legitimate interpretations of Islam. We need to find moderate Muslims to ally with and try to win that PR war, which sounds a lot easier than it would be.