Very nice accent.
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Very nice accent.
mmm, Sarkozy's
(a Kzoo bakery with awesome bread)
CIA sez no nuke program in Iran since 2003.
I'm not sure whether to believe our intel or not.
Oh I see. Post hoc ergo propter hoc.
And anyway, what do you mean you don't know whether to believe our intelligence? It's all you have. It's not like you're running an alternative intelligence program out of your garage, or your buddy Jim has some keen insights that somehow the intelligence agencies that are all run by the Executive Branch are somehow being manipulated by their bosses into saying something that isn't true and does not conform to the agenda being propagated by the Executive Branch. For them to be mistaken...how would any one of us have any idea about that? And for them to be intimidated or manipulated...it wouldn't make any sense.
This is the same thing that frustrates me about the truck drivers and PC repair technicians who say "evolution isn't a fact, I disagree with how some of the evidence is interpreted." OK, Professor Microscope, what fascinating insights do you have in the tedious and scholastically competitive field of genetics?
I don't believe in Iran.
I believe the intel that I agree with and don't believe the shit that might limit my ability to go to fucking war.
Except that...you know...no one has any cause to disagree with the CIA and the 17 other intelligence agencies, because none of us are the ones putting themselves at risk to collect the secrets? And if Iran has no significant nuclear weapons or missile technology program, there's no reason to go to war with them at all? Other than that, we're in complete agreement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahoe
Fascinating interview with the Pakistani political writer Ahmed Rashid on NPR today. He said 3 things that were REALLY interesting.
1. Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is using the whole "war on terror" thing to get political support from the USA. He's not well liked at home (obviously), but apparently he has a habit of letting Islamist rebellions fester into a crisis so that it will make the nightly news in the USA, and when he has to send the troops in to fight the rebels, it makes him look like a hero. For instance, he let the Islamist extremist student groups take over the Red Mosque in Islamabad for 6 months before he decided to do anything about it. So things that seem small at first, and could be cleared out by the cops, actually get many times worse because the extremists fortify their positions and then he has to send in the Army.
2. A lot of the problems in Pakistan and Afghanistan are actually caused by the hatred between India and Pakistan. Say there's a crisis in Afghanistan, and India decides to lend some support. The Pakistanis will see this as a case of India trying to influence affairs in the greater Middle East, and will actively fight against whatever it is - even if it's actually stabilizing the region. Pakistan will always view India as an enemy at the cost of common sense.
3. When the report came out that said Iran isn't working on nukes, everyone was relieved a little bit in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The way they saw it, if there was ever a war, the Pakistanis and Afghans would have to fight on the side of the USA, and Iran would do whatever it could do undermine their already fragile governments, so they don't want it to come to that. But they're also pissed off at us for putting them in this position - they know the USA is pushing hard for war with Iran, but they would be the ones to suffer the most, and it would be especially bad if there was no reason to go to war with them in the first place.
Interesting stuff.