Speculation is growing in both Iran and Sudan that Tehran and Khartoum are negotiating—or have negotiated—an agreement to provide Iran a base on the Red Sea. The move comes after Iranian warships have twice made port calls at the Sudanese Red Sea city of Port Sudan in recent weeks, and comes after the Iranian supreme leader—on Iran’s November 27 “Navy Day”—again declared that the Iranian navy would no longer be confined to the Persian Gulf. So much for containment.
Iranian leaders are full of bluster. In recent years, the Iranians have spoken about deploying ships into the Atlantic Ocean (they have no logistical capability to supply such ships); building aircraft carriers (they lack the technical capability); and developing their own nuclear submarines (simply declaring their desire to do this would justify uranium enrichment up to 96 percent, more than enough—not by coincidence—to build a nuclear bomb). Sometimes, however, their declarations are not bluster. Iran sees itself in a chess match with the United States and Israel. They are now making their move. Let us hope that President Obama’s response is not simply to draw down the Navy and pivot to Asia.
War with Iran is all but inevitable at this point. It is just a matter of time. The democracies of the Twenty-first Century have learned nothing from their experience in the Twentieth. Obama's dithering is as craven and delusional as Chamberlin's. The only real question left is who will be our allies when that evil day comes. n nOur best hope must be that matters drag out until the amateur hour is past and we have an administration in Washington capable of executing coherent and robust military operations on a grand scale. n nWhat a wake up call the graying airheads of the Nineteen-Sixties and Seventies will experience when they see their children and grandchildren called up in a dimly remembered Vietnam War style military draft to be slaughtered wholesale in a far-away place for reasons they don't begin to fathom.
Time for Obama to visit Teheran à la Nixon. Rapprochement with Iran. Dump Israel. n nWe can dream.
You need to occasionally look at a map. Sudan's Red Sea cost is virtually across the street from Jeddah. 192 miles by air. So before you go all 'let's nuke the Jews to make a peaceful world' over this, you need to recall that Saudi Arabia and Iran not on friendly terms.
Because Iran has done so much for us, and Israel does not buy arms from us, or develop advances in battlefield and trauma medicine and IED protection, both of which have demonstrably saved American lives? Or in medical treatment and diagnosis, cancer treatment, pharmaceuticals and prosthetics? Or cellular technology, or computer security or operating systems, that benefit US companies and commerce? Or because life for women and ethnic and religious minorities (or anyone else for that matter except the ruling elite) is so much better in Iran. than in Israel? Or because Israel sent us no aid and volunteers during hurricanes Sandy and Katrina? Or because so many other countries did send aid during Sandy? Or because Iran has not committed a continuous string of acts of war against the US and international crimes against civilians and aid to terrorists working against US interests, from the Islamist takeover in 1979 nuntil the present day? n nHelp me out, Grump, because I'm trying to figure out how facts work on your planet, and whether you have any guiding values other than your hatred of the Jewish state and those who support it.
Sounds like a great idea. It will give the Israeli Navy lots of practice with underwater sabotage and demolitions, bleeding them dry to build it for very little real strategic value, and piss off Saudi Arabia to no end. Not to mention that the logistics train to supply the port itself is pretty nightmarish – either everything's being brought in from the sea, or overland through Sudan, Eritrea or southern Egypt – through what looks like pretty empty desert in any case. Those supply lines with be very expensive to maintain.
wno really cares about some crud about Iran establishing a naval base as Iran doesn't really have a navy of any note? n nRubin is as absolutist as the average Iranian Ayatollah.
US warships have been sunk by lightly armed small craft. You sound like the same moonbats who are puzzled why Israel is worried about Arab inflitrators with rifles, firebombs and crude explosives.
the warships don't get sunk when they're alert and not hesitant to destroy the boats. Iran may pose some serious threats, aha, but not from their "navy". n nthe Iranian navy couldn't take on the Israeli navy, but might outfight the Somali pirates…. n nshould it come to a fight with the US, the Iranian navy would be dust in a couple of days.