Posted by
arandomguy on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:50:04 PM
I've heard many proposals about the type of action the United States and Great Britain should take in relation to the current hostage crisis that Iran is involved in. Iran kidnapped 15 british sailors and marines, and is holding them in Tehran, treating them no doubt with classic Iranian hospitality (listen to tales of the 1979 hostages to find out just how "hospitable" this actually is).
Here's what I propose. We cannot afford to directly invade Iran right now. Iraq has not yet been totally secured, and until that happens, any hope of invasion is doomed to disaster. It is not, keep in mind, necessary that we invade them at all (even after Iraq is secured), but my point is that the possibility will not open up until Iraq has been throroughly secured.
What I propose is as follows, a combination of views I have heard other people express. First, talking is absolutely not the way to go. When Iran gets in trouble, they take hostages. They have done it multiple times, and are doing it again now. It's what they do. We must make them learn that this kind of behavior is intolerable to the United States and other freedom-loving westernized nations, and that there will be repercussions (other than harshly worded letters!).
We should first systematically bomb both Iranian naval vessels, and Iranian oil and gasoline refineries. These are keys to their military and economy. However, for the maximum effect, we should not do it all at once, in one fell swoop. If we did that, we would have no options to turn to if they fail to comply. We should bomb 1 naval vessel, and 1 oil refinery per 24 hours, until they give back the hostages.
This kind of action, an open act of war against a western nation, is the type of thing that cannot and should not be tolerated. Iran must pay, at least in some respect for declaring war against western nations, sponsoring and harboring terrorism, and killing American and British soldiers and civilians, as well as taking hostages.
My guess, is that if we (and the Brits) systematically dismantle the Iranian navy and the Iranian economy, it will not take very long at all for them to cave. "International pressure" is not working, and the result will simply be the death of the hostages, or perhaps their release. But in matters like this, it is not whether the hostages are released or not that matters. It is the fact that the hostages were taken at all that is important. Even if they give the hostages back (as I hope and pray they will), they should not have taken them in the first place, and must face some consequences for such actions.