Great Debate: On Bombing Iran, between an American-Israeli Likudnik and an American antiwar libertarian Paleocon

Submitted by pumpkin ash on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 8:06am. Tags:

Foreign Affairs

In six parts:

1. Bomb Iran Now
Only fierce military action can stop the Atomic Ayatollahs;
by Michael Freund,

2. Iran is No Threat To America
This may be Israel's fight, but it's not ours;
by Justin Raimondo

3. Wake Up And Smell the Uranium
Ahmadinejad and Khameini want to destroy our way of life;
by Michael Freund

4. Rid the Middle East of All Nuclear Weapons. If Iran dismantles its nukes, will Israel do so, too?
by Justin Raimondo

5. The Logic of an Ostrich, the Temper of a Bully. Your taunts and mudslinging will not make Iran any less of a threat;
by Michael Freund

6. A "Special Relationship," Indeed
America should not be persuaded to plunge the entire Middle East into violence;
by Justin Raimondo

So who was more persuasive to you in this debate, and why?

“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”--William Tecumseh Sherman

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Neither are convincing (#46321)

by MaxSchrek on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 4:43pm

just a bit strident, the main issue which is the
desire by Israel and elements of the US to ensure
that Iran remains weak and unable to counter either
of those countries interests in the region.

The hysteria over the nuclear program is just that
hysteria. The claim that Iran is an 'irrational actor'
is itself irrational, the claim that Iran has ambitions
to attack another country (it would be the first time
in more than 200 years) is pretty far fetched comming
from countries with a lot more experience in invasions.

Its just a model, you wouldn't want to bank on it.

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Neither was particularly persuasive... (#46264)

by Soothsayer on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 10:18am

...especially considering the flaws in each of their arguments.

The main problem I have with Freund's arguments is that he clearly overestimates the extent and immediacy of the Iranian threat, even if he does correctly identify its overall intent.

Raimondo is the exact opposite: if ever there were an ostrich that could write like a man, he'd be it. Not only does he completely discount the threat that Iran poses to the U.S. and its interests, he doesn't even believe that Iran is really a threat to Israel. I'm pretty sure that the sand he has his head stuck in has a little something extra mixed in, because his arguments have no basis in reality.

"In large states public education will always be mediocre, for the same reason that in large kitchens the cooking is usually bad."~Nietzsche

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Raimondo writes with his pen in his beak, or perhaps another (#46275)

by tomsyl on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 10:48am

orifice. PA has linked to him before and I generally follow his likes despite myself, so I've read some of his tripe before. (Raimondo's, not PA's.). Look for his picture and realize that this guy takes himself totally seriously. A credulous audience of one, apparently.

Even a dead midget is far from light. - Confucius

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That was no great debate (#46261)

by Bird Dog on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 9:42am

It was nowhere even close to good. What a waste. I don't know Freund, but Raimondo is on the loopy paleo-isolationist fringe.

"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton

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Michael Freund bio: (#46283)

by pumpkin ash on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 11:26am

Michael Freund is Founder and Chairman of Shavei Israel. He writes a syndicated column and feature stories for the Jerusalem Post, Israel´s leading English-language daily, and he previously served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy Planning in the Prime Minister´s Office under Benjamin Netanyahu. A native of New York, he holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a BA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”--William Tecumseh Sherman

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agreed (#46262)

by dionysus on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 9:46am

Saw his name and didn't bother to click, heh.

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A bit of "Logic of an Ostrich"? (#46286)

by pumpkin ash on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 11:35am

(-Michael Freund)

“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”--William Tecumseh Sherman

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