Khamenei singles out the British and the BBC

[JHE]

Apparently it was a couple of Iranian employees working in the British Embassy who incited hundreds of thousands of people to go out on the streets to protest. I guess I've never really understood how powerful we are.

Like you, the Iranian regime understands very well how powerless 'we' (or, more relevantly, our rulers) are.

The gentlemen of the Islamic Republic have a game. It is to make it very clear to the Iranians, and anyone else who may be paying attention, that Little Satan is impotent.

The gentlemen of the Islamic Republic know that, if they are beastly to the people who were employed by the British Embassy, Mr Miliband will have to protest (it would be mean and downright ungrateful and disloyal not to), any other member of the government, if asked, will have to protest, too, and any part of the British media that takes an interest will express its disapproval. The Islamic gentlemen also know that the mangy old British lion can and will do precisely fuck all.

 

[CyberRose]

The Islamic gentlemen also know that the mangy old British lion can and will do precisely fuck all.

That's what Saddam thought when he banned the UN weapons inspectors...

 

[DotCommunist]

That's what Saddam thought when he banned the UN weapons inspectors...

Iraq is not Iran though. No sir, they have a military might that would bleed the coalition badly.

 

[CyberRose]

Iraq is not Iran though. No sir, they have a military might that would bleed the coalition badly.

Iran is Iraq in 1991...

 

[DotCommunist]

Iran is Iraq in 1991...

I've no doubt that it could be done. But the cost (not just financial) would be unacceptable to those in governance imo. These aren't republican guardsmen who'll be throwing the uniforms over thier shoulders a they run.

 

[CyberRose]

I've no doubt that it could be done. But the cost (not just financial) would be unacceptable to those in governance imo. These aren't republican guardsmen who'll be throwing the uniforms over thier shoulders a they run.

No experience tho...

Plus we'd be miles above them in planes dropping bombs on them, an invasion won't be necessary

 

[DotCommunist]

No experience tho...

Plus we'd be miles above them in planes dropping bombs on them, an invasion won't be necessary

They aren't without an Air force, their navy is brit trained and brit equipped and the ground forces have plenty of civil warfare experience. They really wouldn't be the pushover the Iraqi forces were.

 

[CyberRose]

They aren't without an Air force, their navy is brit trained and brit equipped and the ground forces have plenty of civil warfare experience. They really wouldn't be the pushover the Iraqi forces were.

Saudi Arabia have some of the most expensive toys goin, doesn't mean they'd be any good with em! Iran has no war experience whatsoever (other than what they've been getting upto in Lebanon). They might have a Navy or Airforce but come on, it's no match for a modern professional military. Anyone attacking a modern western military by conventional means doesn't stand a chance. Hence the preferred option of insurgency. And that's completely leaving aside ballistic missiles

The major worry is that if Iran's mentalist regime actually believes Britain is responsible for the unrest, and their current rhetoric isn't just propaganda, then would Iran utilise its Hizballah cadres against mainland UK? We all know Hizballah is more than willing to attack targets outside of Lebanon (Buenos Aries eg)

This could actually be a hell of a lot more serious for Britain's security than we think...

 

[Random]

Iran has no war experience whatsoever (other than what they've been getting upto in Lebanon).

And what they've been getting up to in Afghanistan and Iraq. They've just had one of the biggest lessons on how to not fight and how to fight the US army - on their very doorstep. They'll have learnt from this.

 

[butchersapron]

No war experience? Apart from that murderous 10 year million dead war with Iraq of which there are many hundreds of thoudands of veterans still in the military and many millions who made scarifices and still support the war and the republic. Iran is in a totally different postion to the Iraq in 91 - quantatively and qualatively both militarily, politically etc.

 

[CyberRose]

And what they've been getting up to in Afghanistan and Iraq. They've just had one of the biggest lessons on how to not fight and how to fight the US army - on their very doorstep. They'll have learnt from this.

You make it sound like they need sorting out, not just to salvage our national pride but for genuine security threats as well!

Anyway, like I said, if it's purely about national pride, which Iran is making it about, then we don't need an invasion, just airstrikes. Insurgency tactics work well against ground troops but do little to protect against airstrikes...

 

[CyberRose]

No war experience? Apart from that murderous 10 year million dead war with Iraq of which there are many hundreds of thoudands of veterans still in the military and many millions who made scarifices and still support the war and the republic. Iran is in a totally different postion to the Iraq in 91 - quantatively and qualatively both militarily, politically etc.

20 years + is a long time. They don't have a Northern Ireland or UN/NATO missions to keep their troops on their toes.

And no shit Sherlock that Iran is more advanced than Iraq in 1991, but you forgot that the UK (and let's face it, America as well) will have advanced much further as well, making the analogy still sound.

 

[newharper]

No experience tho...

Plus we'd be miles above them in planes dropping bombs on them, an invasion won't be necessary

This canard needs challenging. I am not qualified to do more than question here. So,

However in most cases the standard military doctrine still applies: wars against third-world regional entities still cannot be won through air power alone.

Boots on the ground still seem to be the sine qua non.

In the beginning of the 2006 Lebanon War Israel utilized an intensive aerial campaign aimed to eliminate Hezbollah and destroy its military as stated by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. It also aimed to return the kidnapped soldiers. The campaign started by destroying Lebanese infrastructure and Hezbollah targets. This continued during the 33 days of the war. The importance of this war to the history of aerial campaigns lies in the fact that its the first war in the modern history that didn't reach its goals through the use of air force. Taking into consideration the results of 1990 and 2003 wars on Iraq and 1998 war on former Yugoslavia; the Israeli air force, one of the strongest in the world, were unable to accomplish their objectives. This lies on the military doctrine that Hezbollah used in the war which proved effective in facing such kinds of wars. There have also been reports during the conflict that a Hezbollah-manned flying drone penetrated Israeli airspace, and returned to Lebanese territory.[141][142]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_warfare

Air power alone could well prove to be a big negative in this specific case.

 

[CyberRose]

This isn't about winning! It's about giving Iran a fucking slap!

 

[butchersapron]

20 years + is a long time. They don't have a Northern Ireland or UN/NATO missions to keep their troops on their toes.

And no shit Sherlock that Iran is more advanced than Iraq in 1991, but you forgot that the UK (and let's face it, America as well) will have advanced much further as well, making the analogy still sound.

I didn't mention they or anyone had 'advanced' - i was talking about postions of relative strength to the US of Iran today and Iraq in 91 Sherlock. And no, 20 years is a very short time in a country where the blood sacrifice that the Iran-Iraq war entailed is a central mobilising myth of the country and it's traditions. We've just seen the Iran-Iraq war veterans generation come to power by playing on that experience. You need to sort out your wind-up elements from your serious ones.

 

[Spion]

This isn't about winning! It's about giving Iran a fucking slap!

A 'slap' with bombs?

Jeez, listen to you getting a hard on for bombing Iran

 

[ohmyliver]

This isn't about winning! It's about giving Iran a fucking slap!

You know, that would be precisely what the regeme want. An ultimately ineffectual airstrike powered slap, to rally every proud Iranian around the flag.

You also seem to forget the military tech that China have been flogging to Iran..

 

[Random]

You make it sound like they need sorting out, not just to salvage our national pride but for genuine security threats as well!

Why would Iran's activity in its neighbouring states - mostly involving cooperation with friendly shiite islamists - constitute a security threat to anyone in Europe? They're quite happy to sell us oil, don't worry.

 

[CyberRose]

You need to sort out your wind-up elements from your serious ones.

I'm sure someone of your stature can figure them out perfectly well...

 

[CyberRose]

A 'slap' with bombs?

Jeez, listen to you getting a hard on for bombing Iran

They started it when they insulted our nation and making wild accusations about us, not to mention the frenzy they're working their citizens up against us, that can't be 'healthy' now can it?

 

[CyberRose]

You know, that would be precisely what the regeme want

You might not be far wrong. Iran seem extremely keen on a conflict for some reason and if they arrested our Foreign Office staff from inside the embassy that's technically a declaration of war invading our territory...

 

[CyberRose]

Why would Iran's activity in its neighbouring states - mostly involving cooperation with friendly shiite islamists - constitute a security threat to anyone in Europe? They're quite happy to sell us oil, don't worry.

Erm so helping insurgents attack British forces in Iraq doesn't constitute a security threat?!

 

[Random]

Erm so helping insurgents attack British forces in Iraq doesn't constitute a security threat?!

as you're on a wind up i'll stop with this one

 

[CyberRose]

as you're on a wind up i'll stop with this one

Realised your mistake I see, ok fair enuf

 

[likesfish]

I've no doubt that it could be done. But the cost (not just financial) would be unacceptable to those in governance imo. These aren't republican guardsmen who'll be throwing the uniforms over their shoulders a they run.

there just stand and Die then
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_military
quite a lot of hardware but its old or 2nd or third rate. They have some good fighters su30 su 25 but the yanks have the f22 bit like turning up to race jenson button in a five year old f1 car yes it has an awesome perfromance just not awesome enough

an insurgency might be a problem though the US army has learned a lot.
but there won't be any current Iranian leadership left