Assassination. Targeted covert ops. Not sure how US military manufacturers are supposed to make money without a full scale war, but it is the cheapest approach (actually learning from the waste of money in Iraq and Afghanistan??) and it won’t generate the bad publicity that collateral, civilian deaths cause. Or in this case, cause Iran to start shooting missiles around. Hopefully.
Western security agencies were most probably behind the killing of an Iranian scientist, analysts have said.
Darioush Rezaeinejad, 35, was shot dead by gunmen in eastern Tehran on Saturday, the third murder of a scientist in the city since 2009.
The Iranian government’s past responses to such incidents have appeared confused, but from the outset the authorities have adopted a strikingly different tone in the Rezaeinejad case.
“Assassinations will continue to be a tool used in this covert war. While it’s impossible to tell with certainty whether Rezaeinejad was an active nuclear scientist, his death appears to be another episode in that war,” said the London-based analyst Ghanem Nuseibeh, the founder of Cornerstone Global Associates.
Oddly enough:
A US spokeswoman denied any American involvement.
Glenn–after reading the book, that is still one of my favorite movies. Chin was a great philosopher–watching soap opera’s as the music of life. I was hoping for a sequel or two given the quality of the first one. It was crap, but what isn’t?
Yeah, if I’m ever locked up in jail, I wonder how much time I will spend rhythmically pushing on the iron bars to create the harmonic synchronicity to pop the jail door open?: “It could happen.”
Assassination Foo. What other alternative is there when armies cannot be fed?
Bobbo, Israel has submarines that carry nukes as well.
Thanks Mike. Surplus from WW2? Well–so they have first strike survivability. I’ve always thought Iran would simply truck or ship their Nuke where ever they want it to explode. Makes the trace back to them that much harder giving the scheme even more “riskability” with the Eternity Doubters. Such a small country for such expertise. Surplus USA submarine drivers too?
The computer virus, now assassination. Somebody is serious about not wanting Iran to have the bomb. Good think Pakistan is so focused on/paranoid about India—or do they have good cause or is it just a way to keep their own sheep in line as we are with our war on Terror.
Yeah, we are all the same. Governments spending our kiddies into debt for transitory mythologies.
Sad.
>> bobbo,
>> Just to remind us all that Pakistani Nuke Scientist that sold Iran the secrets necessary to get their program off the ground is treated as a hero in Pakistan.
I was living in Pakistan when they got the bomb. The celebrations drove me crazy.
It’s a pure admiration of power.
They called it the “Muslim bomb”. At that point, the Christians (AKA the west), Jews and Hundus had the bomb, so they deserved it too.
Not long after, a retired Pakistani general wrote an article on what a Pak-India nuclear war would really be like and he was treated like a traitor.
>> MikeN said, on July 27th, 2011 at 6:21 am
>> This site was complaining when Pat Robertson recommended assassination to avert a war.
Does “this site” agree on anything? To John’s credit, he has designed it so that we don’t agree on anything.
But if you are grasping for liberal hypocrisy on this subject, you won’t find it in me.
I am four-square against assassination.
If Obama had anything to do with this, I will criticize him. That’s a big _if_ by the way. Even, if the CIA was behind this, I doubt they would ever bring the President in the loop on it.
Even so, the CIA tends to work in layers, right? A (allegedly) US supported group like Jundallah might have done this, without direct orders from the US but knowing that it was in our shared interests.
To hell with double-tapping these foreign peckerheads, we need to start right on Wall Street. Mind you, it should be done responsibly (frangible ammo, for example, to prevent those nearby from being hit by ricochets).
Maybe we should also go after whatever little vaporheads are out there adding people like me to their endless lists, when their time and our resources could be put to so much better use if they were capable of recognizing, oh, say, sarcam, irony, …..
Nah, come to think of it, just pop everybody with a necktie or epaulets.
Greg–I spent 12 hours in Karachi. Hot, humid, dirty, poor, smelly. Lived right up to the worst stereotypes.
If you “knew” Iran would Nuke Israel, would assassination be justified must countries let themselves be attacked first before defending themselves, or is that even allowed, ie==after the fact.
It is an exercise in free will, self determination, values. What do you think of people who will disagree with you?
# 32 bobbo, “if you had just a very small life savings and income, where would you retire to? Where are you planning to retire to?”
A tough one, Bobbo. It really depends on the amenities you require to enjoy life. Central America still has a couple of retiree friendly places, chief among them Ecuador. Further south, Peru has some wonderful places to live as an aging expat. Thailand is wonderful but the economy is booming and it seems every time I turn around the currency gets stronger. And inflation is miserable. The new government has promised to double the minimum wage so that will drive costs up even further. Malaysia is very friendly to expat retirees and, as long as you don’t try to live in Kuala Lumpur, can be very affordable. Same for Sri Lanka. There are some real bargains to be had along the southern coast/ (Caveat emptor – part of the reason for the bargains is that was the site of the 2001 tsunami.) Me? I’m thinking of retiring to Indonesia. I’m not gonna tell you what islands I’m considering but they are as close to paradise as you can get on earth. The island that has my strongest leanings right now is very small. You can circumnavigate the place on foot in about half a day along some of the most beautiful beaches you can imagine. It is partly surrounded by gorgeous blue coral reefs in waters crystal clear and warmer than my usual bath. The only problem for me is they have no telephone service. Supposed to be installed this winter and will support DSL. Safe and happy place. Last time I was there, I fell asleep on the beach. Slept for three hours or so until a local woke me up. Very sorry but tide coming in. On the bigger islands, you can get by in English. On the smaller ones, you need to be able to speak the lingo (Bahasa). I’m not fluent but I do have a basic grasp of it. (Downside: there’s a volcano. Not active but there’s not really any place to hide on the island if it comes to life.) There’s a restaurant on the beach where you sit at one of the thatched canopies and tell you what you want to drink. While you drink it, they catch your dinner. Not much choice, you pretty much eat what they catch, but it sure is fresh!
Speaking of which, I’ve been out with friends all evening and have only had some fried bugs for snacks. I think I need to arrange some real dinner.
To the forum: Sorry to have gone so far off topic.
Thanks Animby. Think you can be so isolated? I’d like a selection of international dining in the area. I agree about Thailand. I’m back to thinking the Philippines again. Small coastal town for the slower tempo, tourist spots for the pizza. I’ve been living here for long enough. Time for a change.
Pro’s and Con’s to all we do.
Bobbo – London, Cairo, NYC, Bangkok, Mexico City – I’ve lived in some of the biggest cities on earth.
Yeah, I can put up with the quiet life. The nice thing about my island is it’s an hour boat ride away from civilization.