Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kikapu]

miltiades,
You're not going to get any arguments from me on what you have written. My argument is, lets not pretend that the "West walks on water" and that we are holyier than Middle Eastern coutries, thats all.

[miltiades]

Kikapu , of course the West is not perfect , definately US is not. But the alternative would be totally horrid. Just look at immigration today , oppressed and poor people look to the West to provide them with safety, education and a standard of living that they could never achieve in their respective countries. In the UK there is free education and Health Service , what annoys me is that there are first and second generation of immigrants who obtain all the benefits that the Western world has to offer and yet they not only despise us but also want to destroy us. You must admit that the Western world is a very tolerant world , and has principles that it upholds and accords respect to all law abiding citizens irrespective of ethnicity. We dont kill our fellow Buddhists, Christians, Hindus , Muslims or any other religious group , we do not bomb churches, mosques , temples etc.
No Sir our laws have been enacted by democratically elected members not by some Theocratic Tyrant who thinks , (to use a cypriot colloquialism) vasta ton theo pou ta arhidia.

[kodo]

thank you miltiades.

Kikapu, as far as the west committing more crimes against humanity than any middle eastern country, western countries fights wars under the Geneva conventions. The west does not intentionally target civilians but civilian casualties are a product of every war. Most of the west's 'crimes against humanity' as you put it (and as I am interpreting it) were done against people by their on rulers. Think of Stalin, Hitler, Milosevic. We don't know the extent yet of Saddam's Hussien's atrocities, we don't know what, if any, atrocities that other middle eastern countries perpetrate. Most middle eastern countries are very exclusive and secretive and have an iron hand in what their people see, do and say.

[Piratis]

I do not support the regimes of countries like Iran or Iraq. However this doesn't mean that innocent people should start dying in those countries by the American bombs.

The regimes of Saudi Arabia and some other of Americas best friends are also non democratic. Go to Saudi Arabia to see how the treat women there and you will understand what I mean.

The Americans are simply looking for excuses to serve their own interests and nothing more than that.

You must admit that the Western world is a very tolerant world , and has principles that it upholds and accords respect to all law abiding citizens irrespective of ethnicity.

This is true to the level of the average citizen. However if you act in any way against the American interests, you can disappear and end up in some place were the Geneva conventions and laws do not exist for you.

[Bananiot]

If Iran insists on building a bomb, what do you think should be done about it Piratis? Actually, you may have answered this question before, but just remind us of your views on this one.

[cypezokyli]

the question should also involve what CAN be done and not only what SHOULD be done

[Alexis]

If Iran insists on building a bomb, what do you think should be done about it Piratis? Actually, you may have answered this question before, but just remind us of your views on this one.

Hi Bananiot,

I believe we should act with caution and not simply dive head-first into things. Most people (by that I mean most governments in the world) agree that Iran should not be allowed to obtain nukes. How do we go about dealing with this threat? The point is that many governments including Russia have said that caution and diplomacy is the only way forward. Whilst I agree with her principles America is rapidly moving us towards a situation where only a military intervention will diffuse the problem. I personally don't believe that this is a good thing, although I agree that something must be done. With regards Iran and her obtaining nuclear energy, I would say that this should be a choice for her people. I live in the UK which is also oil rich (although the type of oil we have requires refinement) yet at the present time there is a huge debate about how we are going to fill the enrgy gap that the de-commissioning of our nuclear power stations will leave in its wake, it is a big problem. In this day and age, Iran should have the option of having a nuclear energy programme as long as she plays by the rules. This is the IAEA's stance and I agree with it wholeheartedly. Why don't we give the IAEA a chance first and then make decisions based on the facts rather than political rhetoric? Otherwise why bother having this debate at all? If what you say is 100% representative and we are certain Iran is going to use nukes against Israel then the only alternative will be regime change unless we find another solution. As Cypezokyli has pointed out this will not be an easy option, even for the US.

[miltiades]

Alexis , military intervention will not as you say diffuse the problem , military intervention if and when it happens will perhaps exacerbate an allready highly charged situation , but the purpose of miltiary intervention will be to destroy Iran's nuclear ambitions and to ensure that threats to wipe out another nation will not become a reality. Also to ensure that nuclear weapons do not fall in the hands of AQ , who would not hesitate to use against innocent civilians in the Western world.
I very much doubt that Iran is in a compromising mood and no matter how extensive and protracted the negotiations are , they will go ahead regardless.

[kodo]

The only thing that really can be done right now is continuing to put pressure on Iran. Not that it will do any good. I would like to think that the Iranians are smart enough to the realise what the consequences would be of using their weapons but that may be too much to hope for.

[Alexis]

Hi all,

The aims of the US/UK etc...on this matter I agree with. It is the methods I am worried about. I can't help but think that we are working ourselves into a corner where military confrontation will be the only choice left to us and I think we all agree that another war like Iraq is only going to polarise the world even more leading to global instability. We have to be very careful when dealing with countries like Iran. The stances of the UK/US and Iran are hardening more rapidly than could ever have been imagined. Remember that only 4 years ago Jack Straw was visiting Iran to discuss international terrorism with president Khatami. Granted the new guy is not exactly the Dalai Lama but I still think all diplomatic avenues should be exhausted and by that I mean all attempts should be made to resolve this peacefully and not just paid lip service to.