Southern Iran controls routes west into Afghanistan and the Straits of
Hormuz where so much of the world's oil is shipped thru. Why not plant a
strategic base there?


NOYB wrote:
Because we weren't in a position to invade Iran.

We weren't in a position to invade Iraq either. That's why it took a few
months of maneuvering, and buttering up other countries to allow us to
position troops & equipment on the border.

And guess what? We're *still* not in a position to invade Iran.


... We thought we had troops
available in Turkey, but the *******s squelched that plan at the last
minute...which allowed a lot of weapons and people to flow back and forth to
and from Syria at the start of the war.

You know, PO'ing the Turks is one of the stupidest things the
Bush/Cheney Administration has done. Turkey has a strong army, they're
fierce fighters, they have a lot of experience combatting terrorism,
they have a strongly secular government, and they have been strongly
pro-West and especially pro-US for decades. They could (and should IMHO)
be among our staunchest allies in the Middle East.

Instead, we anger them to curry favor with the Kurds, who hate us and
are going to remain more friendly towards Al-Queda no matter what we do.

Smart move, huh? If Bush was playing chess, he might as well have thrown
away his rooks at the start.




... We can hit terror cells in any country in the region as long as we
have troops in Iraq.

So, why haven't we? If there are "terrorist" and/or insurgents coming into
Iraq, then they must exist in these other countries. Why have we not cut
them off at the source??


We've squeezed Syria pretty hard...even so far as getting into border
squirmishes with Saddam-sympathizing Syrian troops.


Really? Is that a fact? When?

The only thing we've done to Syria is get them angry enough to stop
cooperating on counter-terrorist investigations. Another smart strategic
move... like throwing away a knight or two.

I guess next time Bin Laden and/or his friends call 'check' you'll be
cheering about how we're winning. Better start talking about the economy
again!

DSK