Originally Posted by DieselAddict

Did anyone not notice this statement? I think this shows how ignorant this general is. Is he saying that Al Qaeda in Iraq (which by the way wasn't there before we invaded) is sponsored by Iran? Or what about the Sunni-on-Sunni, Sunni-on-Shia and Shia-on-Shia infighting going on across the country? I agree with him though that one of the biggest mistakes we've made was to disarm Iraq (by disbanding its military). He doesn't admit it but that's what started the insurgency. As to oil, the only ME country that supplies us with oil of any significant quantity is Saudi Arabia. It has been suggested that we could stop relying on Saudi oil if we made 1/3 of our vehicles diesel-powered. I imagine similar if not bigger savings would be achieved if pickup and SUV owners who don't need these vehicles (which is the vast majority) switched to driving cars instead.

As to Pakistan, once Musharaf is out of power all bets are off. I'm afraid a firm pressure from the West may not be enough to keep the radicals there under control. Pakistan is a much bigger threat than Iran because in the tribal regions it is a safe haven for Al Qaeda and the Taliban and unlike Iran Pakistan is nuclear-armed. Iran is our enemy only because of our own stupidity. We installed the brutal Shah that was corrupt and oppressed the people. We shouldn't have been surprised when he and the country were overrun by the Islamic revolution that persists to this day. Also stupid was Bush's total refusal to talk to Iran, even when the reformists within Iran's government reached out to us a few years ago. Bush ignored it and the reformists were ridiculed and side-lined, leading to the election of radical Ahmadinejad and his hardcore anti-US and anti-Israel attitudes. It will take a change in leadership in both countries for the relationship to improve. War with Iran would be beyond stupid. Not only do we not have money for it (we don't even have money for Iraq), but our military is already overstretched and given the size of Iran and its armed forces Iraq would seem like a walk in the park in comparison. Furthermore our invasion would turn the Iranian population against us and unite them behind the clerical regime that they currently don't like very much. It is time for us to stop thinking that invading other countries that have done us no harm can win hearts and minds in the Muslim world because it does the exact opposite and it only strengthens the radicals, making the war on terror all that tougher to fight.