How about in order:
I'm not sure looking at who Xerces might have invaded or not--or anyone else--is the best way to evaluate Iran's willingness and ability to go to war with us now...
First, I think we need to take them at their word; they've SAID they wish to bring us/Israel down, wipe us from the face of the earth etc.
My point was that Persian culture has not been 'warlike' for over 1500 years. Not saying it's inherently peaceful, but they do not act rashly with their military (their own military, that is...they don't seem to mind using other nation's forces, like ours or Lebanon's, to do their bidding).
When did the Iranian government state they wanted to bring the US down? Are you talking about back in the 1980's, when we were funding Iraqi attacks on them?
Yes, they are anti-Israeli. It goes back to some neighborhood rumbles some years ago, and has only gotten uglier as time has gone on, with both political opinions and rhetoric becoming more strident on both sides.
Second, they are trying very hard to get the weapons that would enable them to do so.
Sez you (and the neocon propaganda machine). Yes, the IAEA found them in violation of monitoring regulations recently, after extreme pressure from the US, but the IAEA did NOT say they were building bombs, and specifically stated in their report that the situation was not a crisis in their opinion. You can't cut and paste the parts of UN reports you like and ignore the rest. You need to examine the whole thing, and all the conclusions they reached.
Third, in evaluating both countries--Pakistan and Iran--I look at the mindset behind such threats and weapons build up. Though they are both muslim countries, Pakistan seems to understand what nuclear war could mean for the world. They seem to understand mutual assured destruction--and, perhaps, have backed down, or been willing, once again, to try and talk things out with India.
Pakistan has a VERY militaristic culture. For crying out loud, they are a military dictatorship! I think you need to read more about the history of India/Pakistan wars to realize how dangerous that culture has become, especially lately. They traded nuclear technology to North Korea (which is how NK got the bomb), in exchange for longer range missiles for their own nukes. The last time they got in a war, they stopped because they were beaten by India, not because they suddenly got reasonable.
In contrast, Iran does not seem to see or understand the threat to the world nuclear war would pose. Avoiding death does not appear to be as high a priority for them as it does for us. Many times, they seem to be fueled by a fantasy life wherein death isn't death to them--it's getting to sleep with 72 virgins in paradise. They seem to not mind if the world gets destroyed because they think Allah is going to save THEM, not us.
I don't know where you got the idea that Iranians put no value on life. You seem to be confusing Palestinian and Sunni (and "Al Queda") suicide bombers with Shiite Iranians. By and large, outside a few desperation operations during the Iran/Iraq war, there have been VERY few Iranian suicide bombers. They *are* currently recruiting them as a part of their military, but again, it seems more of a military tactic to be used against us if we invade, than an asymmetrical political tactic (as in Israel/Palestine and Iraq).
And I almost choked on my spit when I read this: "They seem to not mind if the world gets destroyed because they think Allah is going to save THEM, not us." Cough! I could describe so many rapture-hungry right wing Christians in this country the exact same way. Even though they are a theocracy, the people of Iran have strong secular tendencies, especially in the younger generation.
In 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini mostly hijacked an existing revolution that was bound to take place under the Shah, rather than the people of Iran all spontaneously deciding they wanted to live in a theocracy and die for God. There were (and are) a lot of Persians who, while they hated the Shah, weren't thrilled about Khomeini and the mullahs, either. But at least he wasn't the Shah.
In the years since, until recently, they had been moving their government toward more and more moderate opinions. Both the people and the government of Iran expressed their sympathy after the 9/11 attacks. But when Bush invaded Iraq, it strengthed the right wing forces in Iran considerably, and they ended up electing their own Persian version of George Bush.
And finally:
They truly seem to be a primitive culture who has managed to get ahold of a weapon that is beyond their understanding--and they intend to use it nevertheless.
Golly, you can hardly tell you're an American the way you seem to compare Persians (an ancient and well-educated culture) with the gorillas at the end of Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
I cannot fully express my disdain for both your post, and your opinions, on this forum without having my own post deleted.
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