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Graeme Wall

On 19/03/2012 15:24, d wrote:
On Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:07:52 +0000
Graeme wrote:
And have the entire arab world put them on their hit list? Even iran
needs some friends.

Only half the Arab world and do the Iranians actually care, after all
they aren't Arabs.

No , but they like to be puppet master of a number of arab terrorist groups.
And I wouldn't be the one to place a bet on whether shia arabs would support
persians after they'd just wiped out half the peninsula.

Riyadh is hardly half the peninsular.

Of course there is. No sensible government puts all its eggs in one basket.

We are not talking about a sensible government we are talking about what
is effectively a medieval theocracy.

Even theocrats arn't complete idiots.

But they do tend to assume their view of the world must be the true one.

Doesn't really matter, you knock out Tehran and it doesn't matter where
the monkeys are hiding, you've got the organ-grinder.

Not if he's already legged it.

See above. Besides which conventional drones can be used if you want to
continue.

The russians just like to stick their oar in. They don't actually give
a **** about Syria other than using it as a tool to prove that they won't
blindly follow western wishes at the UN.

More to the point it is one of the few states left buying Russian weaponry.

I doubt thats true. The russians sell via arms dealers to many many nations.
Look at where half the arms in africa come from.

The AK47 is Czech manufacture. Tghere are not many states putting in
new orders for T54 (or whatever) tanks and MiG fighters.

I'm assuming the Iranians have already fired a nuke and the west is
demonstrating that instant virgins for the masses works both ways. If
there is no point in launching a nuke, why bother having them in the
first place.

I mean why bother with cruise missiles if you're going to use conventional too.

I meant conventionally armed cruise missiles.

True, but its not yet overtly hostile to the west and it limits itself to
regional powermongering. If some taliban supporting islamic nutters got
control of the nuclear missiles then god help us.

Be afraid, be very afraid, they already have.

Not quite yet, but it might not be far off.

The Pakistan Intelligence Service effectively controls the government
and is the prime supporter of the Taliban in that country.

Though if they even looked at
the red button the wrong way I suspect the yanks would have a quiet word
with the indians and help them carry out a pre-emptive strike.

You are still looking at it purely from a western perspective, the
Americans are quite capable of deluding themselves that Pakistan is
still our ally right up to the point that Mumbai disappears in a
mushroom cloud.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail