Taking all bets on Iran...

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Judging by current rhetoric and current political policies, I figure I'll open the betting table for when the war will start. Since it's starting to sound like Iraq rhetoric all over again, and considering recent 'drills' planned soon, deploying US military units in Israel and around the Gulf; it seems there's a considerable chance that soon war will be upon us.

The winners gets a compliment slice of delicious yellow cake with alpha emitting icing.

Personally, I say June this year because most of the US-Israel war defence drills are planned around that time, as well as the enforcement of the oil sanctions against Iran too.

[Calavera]

Last option. Beyond 2014 and possibly against another threat.

World War III could've happened 10 years ago with the 9/11 events and USA invading Iraq. But it didn't.

[Parts]

They are having elections in March  I feel much of this is to distract the public and avoid the shit storm of protests they had the last go around. 

[renaeden]

How long do elections last? Last time it seemed to take months and months.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Last option. Beyond 2014 and possibly against another threat.

World War III could've happened 10 years ago with the 9/11 events and USA invading Iraq. But it didn't.

Ah, but this is different. The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic location for oil exports for a lot of nations and currently the Iranians are threatening to 'close' this route by force if their exports are restricted. 9/11 as specular in tragedy as it was, had no strategic importance in terms of affecting logistics of a critical natural resource and Iraqi forces had nothing to leverage against the U.S that could profoundly effect the global economy overnight. Back in 2001, the economy was still stronger too, but now it's highly volatile to such issues.

There's also Iran's ties with Russia and China, who purchase certain exports from Iran (especially oil), and they won't take kindly to the U.S invading one of it's key trade partners. They already are irritated by the U.S sanctions.

On a slightly unrelated matter, there's a NATO (I think) missile defence shield being planned (probably almost complete by now) in Poland that allegedly is aimed to counter Iran's or any potential missile attack from the middle east, but the Russians are angry about it because they know it's actually aimed towards them. That issue could blow up with already cold relations about Iran too.

So I'm factoring all these issues in and see a definite trend for war emerging soon.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

The real question is whenever or not Iran carries out it's threat, and the U.S/Israel responds or some trumped up 'proof' of nuclear weapon development emerges and they pre-emptively strike. In a way right now both sides are playing a game of chicken rhetoric.

[Scrapheap]

If the mullahs running Iran are any measure, I'd say we should nuke them as soon as possible.

They've promised that once they get their hands on nukes, they'll use them.

They will probably nuke Israel first, but the US would be second.

[Adam]

 

[Phallacy]

I have a feeling that since the US government (through the mass media) have convinced people that the end of the world would be on December of this year, that they will try to make it happen.

[ZEGH8578]

iran probably allready have nuclear capability, or will be having it anytime very soon
meaning
iran is untouchable, like india, pakistan, israel... any country with nuclear capability

time to look elsewhere for the "boredom-wars"

what about.. chile?

[Calavera]

I have a feeling that since the US government (through the mass media) have convinced people that the end of the world would be on December of this year, that they will try to make it happen.

You never know. They did, after all, establish the Israeli state in fulfillment of the Scriptures.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

iran probably allready have nuclear capability, or will be having it anytime very soon
meaning
iran is untouchable, like india, pakistan, israel... any country with nuclear capability

time to look elsewhere for the "boredom-wars"

what about.. chile?

They've only enriched one uranium fuel rod though and you need thousands for a fuel assembly to mass produce weapons grade plutonium in a short amount of time. Depends on what type of nuclear weapon they're building actually (if they're even building one). Progress, but hardly enough to deter war and even so, US/Israel are willing to take the gamble I'd say, especially now (as to let it go too far risks that untouchable scenario). However with a well executed bunker buster bombardment you could probably collapse the mounts of dirt on top of the underground nuclear facilities and mitigate fallout via implosion, well... I hope they can otherwise the local contamination will be sufficient (as I'm sure Iran has a lot of uranium in storage, likely tons of it).

[Parts]

They don't need to start a war,  just threatening to do so drives up the price of oil hurts us more and they get more for what oil they can sell.  The trade restrictions don't do too much when countries not party to them buy the oil anyway

[Callaway]

I wonder what effect this assassination will have long term:

The assassination on Wednesday of another Iranian nuclear scientist may now prompt Iran to try to respond in kind.

The murder in Tehran of Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan is the fourth such attack on Iran's scientists in just two years.

It comes on top of a sophisticated cyber sabotage programme and two mysterious explosions at Iranian military bases, one of which in November killed the general known as 'the godfather' of Iran's ballistic missile programme.

No-one is claiming responsibility for these attacks but Iran blames its longstanding enemy, Israel, and occasionally the US.

Whoever is behind them, Iran is clearly being subjected to an undeclared campaign to slow down its nuclear programme, which the West and Israel suspect is aimed at developing an atomic bomb.

The latest Iranian scientist to die was killed by a magnetic bomb, attached to his car, a Peugeot 405, by two men on a motorbike.

Whoever was targeting him clearly knew his route, his car and his timings.

The small, professionally made device was designed to kill its victim but cause only limited damage to the surroundings.

It bears a striking similarity to the bomb used in November 2010 to kill another nuclear scientist, Majid Shahriari....

[Parts]

Long term well nobody will want to be a nuclear scientist in Iran anymore
Not sure they have been killing them for awhile now I am sure they have a lot more where he came from.  You don't need the visionaries like they did for the Manhattan Project but more of a skilled technical type as I am sure they have plans for everything