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Reader comment on item: Symposium: The Showdown [with Iran]

Submitted by michael c (United Kingdom), Jul 31, 2005 at 06:35

I agree with Werner that any overt [air] attack by the US on Iran has the risk of uniting the whole population against the US, triggering Hezbollah attacks etc but maybe most importantly, would potentially unite the Shia with the Sunnis/Wahabbis against the US. This would surely be a worst-case scenario, both for the region and globally.

I would bet on some 'operational problems' at the new reactor.

Contrary to the opinions of Mr Phares, I see Iraq as a disaster waiting to happen, despite good intentions, and find it easy to imagine a takover by the Shia clerics and an extension of the Sharia fundamentalism that is already taking hold of the south. Not hard to see a US withdrawal from Bagdad with the same resonance as that from Saigon a generation ago. However, would there be a silver lining in the conterbalance of Shia with Sunni? If it spilled over into civil war would that pit Iran against Saudi Arabia? Would the West stand back and let them get on with it?

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Reader comments (18) on this item

Title By Date
iranian situation [168 words]nick wrightAug 15, 2005 02:56
Iran already has nuclear weapons [357 words]Norm GrantAug 11, 2005 21:46
Response to Asim [250 words]No dhimmiAug 8, 2005 00:34
Further Comment [313 words]Peter J. HerzAug 7, 2005 01:45
Answer to Asim [389 words]WernerAug 3, 2005 22:28
Answer to Iran [176 words]Tony AAug 3, 2005 20:57
Monty islamists are after epople like you [108 words]Asim AhmedAug 3, 2005 19:25
no nuclear war -Iran already has bomb [259 words]haydarJan 8, 2006 21:44
Soft power [277 words]WernerAug 1, 2005 20:12
USA – playing for the mullahs! [127 words]John MAug 1, 2005 19:47
Soft-Power Works and Is Cost Effective [98 words]GWAug 1, 2005 15:32
Iranian Quagmire [88 words]John MAug 1, 2005 07:46
Disposition of the Military [78 words]MontyJul 31, 2005 11:39
Iran--stay out [249 words]Peter J. HerzJul 31, 2005 10:08
MAD makes sense [64 words]WJ HalversonJan 26, 2006 23:55
⇒ Shias & Sunnis [172 words]michael cJul 31, 2005 06:35
Which option [391 words]WernerJul 30, 2005 22:31
Israel's role? [109 words]Yehoshua ZellerJul 30, 2005 19:31

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

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