Quotes of the Morning: Iran, Iraq, Whateva

“The U.S. intelligence community is ill-prepared to assess Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and its intentions for developing weapons of mass destruction, a congressional report said on Wednesday.
Noting ‘significant gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the various areas of concern about Iran,’ the House Intelligence Committee staff report questioned whether the United States could even effectively engage in talks with Tehran on ways to diffuse tensions.”
-Reuters, August 24, 2006

“Hmmm.. We don’t exactly know what Iran is up to, but they are Middle-Eastern and Iran sure sounds a lot like Iraq. I guess that there is only one thing that we can do… Prepare to attack!”
-Skippy

“Some policy makers have accused intelligence agencies of playing down Iran’s role in Hezbollah’s recent attacks against Israel and overestimating the time it would take for Iran to build a nuclear weapon.
The complaints, expressed privately in recent weeks, surfaced in a Congressional report about Iran released Wednesday. They echo the tensions that divided the administration and the Central Intelligence Agency during the prelude to the war in Iraq.
The criticisms reflect the views of some officials inside the White House and the Pentagon who advocated going to war with Iraq and now are pressing for confronting Iran directly over its nuclear program and ties to terrorism, say officials with knowledge of the debate.”
-New York Times, August 24, 2006

“Somehow this all sounds vaguely familiar.. Now that Iraq is commonly recognized as a fiasco we need a war, a good war that we can look to with pride. Hmm.. How can we get involved in a war with Iran? What trigger can we use?”
-Skippy

“We have passed one Security Council resolution, demanding that Iran cease its enrichment activities. We will see what the response is. We're beginning to get some indication, but we'll wait until they have a formal response. The U.N. resolution calls for us to come back together on the 31st of August. The dates -- dates are fine, but what really matters is will. And one of the things I will continue to remind our friends and allies is the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.
But, no, you're right, this is a -- they're a central part of creating instability, trying to stop reformers from realizing dreams. And the question facing this country is, will -- do we, one, understand the threat to America? In other words, do we understand that a failed -- failed states in the Middle East are a direct threat to our country's security? And secondly, will we continue to stay engaged in helping reformers, in working to advance liberty, to defeat an ideology that doesn't believe in freedom?”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, August 21, 2006

“Yes! Holding Iran accountable to U.N. resolutions will truly be a triumph of the will. We cannot allow nations to flaunt U.N. resolutions. That’s like breaking the law, and we all know how Fearless Leader feels about obeying the law.. for other people I mean.”
-Skippy

“The Security Council, Taking note of the letters of the Permanent Representative of Lebanon (S/12600 and S/12606) and the Permanent Representative of Israel (S/12607), and having heard the statements of the Permanent Representatives of Lebanon and Israel. The Security Council is gravely concerned at the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, and its consequences to the maintenance of international peace, convinced that the present situation impedes the achievement of a just peace in the Middle East.
The Security Council,
1. Calls for strict respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized boundaries;
2. Calls upon Israel immediately to cease its military action against Lebanese territorial integrity and withdraw forthwith its forces from all Lebanese territory;
3. Decides, in the light of the request of the Government of Lebanon, to establish immediately under its authority a United Nations interim force for southern Lebanon for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security and assisting the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area, the force to be composed of personnel drawn from States Members of the United Nations.
4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council within twenty-four hours on the implementation of this resolution.”
-U.N. Resolution 425, March 19, 1978

“Hey, it took them a while to implement that one, and Israel is right back in there again, but Iran is different. Have fun with the mid-term election war everyone.”
-Skippy