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Comment by Simulacra | Hacker News Reader

Something that we did get was better positioning to launch intelligence operations in Iran. Afghanistan and Iran share a considerable border. It would presume that if the United States felt Iran was a threat, building some type of forward intelligence operation Afghanistan might be beneficial.

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Wait a minute, this does not sound as romantic as the "protecting our freedom" that gets thrown around whenever army justification is brought up! Are you telling me we've been collectively thanking numerous people for their effort to establish "better positioning to launch intelligence operations"?! /S

On a more serious note, the only country with proven history of attacks on U.S. soil is Saudi Arabia and U.S. officials sure seem in bed with its rulers. So honestly, all this Iran crap is nothing but that; an utter load of crap.

To keep the peace the western coalitions have to pick someone. And who's been the better ally for peace, Saudi or Iran? It's fine to say Saudi is corrupt and not a good actor, but stepping away from them would mean widespread war in the ME.

Realpolitik.

Afghanistan had to be dealt with to avoid having a stateless state where actors like OBL could operate with impunity. US presence there is a thorn in the side of Iran, Russia, China, India and Pakistan.

It sucks to be an Afghan, sandwiched between these sparring great powers.

Realpolitik. Since we enforce the standards of realpolitik, we should accept that Iran and North Korea will develop nukes.

A real threat is the only way America listens. Unfortunate but America could've been the Dark knight. Instead, we chose to destroy lives, perpetuating the cycle of hatred forever.

Iran is as much of a threat as Iraq and Afghanistan were

The problem is we want the Iranian people to stand up to the Mullahs, but if we press too much, they are a very, very nationalist people and will side with the Mulahs when push comes to shove for them.

It's a balancing act on a razor's edge.

That's way too much nuance and understanding of the local setiment for Tom Clancy Strategists (or real generals, judging from the WaPo article today) to grasp.

Are other nations any different? If you had a dictatorship in your country, would a foreign attack win your "hearts and minds"?

> we want the Iranian people to stand up to the Mullahs

How are you defining "we" here?

the US government, the people who are nervous about Iran obtaining nuclear arms capability, the people who think Iran purposefully destabilizes the whole region, the people who don't like the fact Iran supports Russian proxy wars and finance more terrorism in the region and abroad then an other Middle Eastern country??

Iran is much more of a threat.

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