Let’s use this topic to create different polls to gauge the community’s thinking and opinions on various issues. It looks like we’re able to change our answers, so we can see how opinions change over time.
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Do you believe that Iran tried to assassinate Trump?
- Yes
- No
- Don’t know (insufficient data)
- Don’t care (I have more important things to think about)
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voters
For reference:
Don’t we need a “None of the Above”, “Insufficient Data”, type of option as well as Yes/No?
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Your wish is my command.
Not exactly “Don’t care (I have more important things to think about)”
More like “I have more urgent things to think about since the important things have been ignored for the last half century by the folks most threatened by nuclear war.”
Things like:
…and that therefore it is my experience that, FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, the “men” on the right can only communicate with each other as permitted by the sensitivities of the “women” on the left.
This situation had better change before we all come out with our guns blazing at each other.
…and that if there is going to be hope of getting the manifest individuality of the “right” to agree on some objective basis for discussing what “IS” as opposed to what “OUGHT” to be the case…
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Need to better define “tried.” I think Iran had plotted to do so, but I don’t think they’ve actually made an attempt.
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For the purpose of this poll, let’s define “tried” as “actually made an attempt”. I assume that many countries, just like the U.S. and Israel, have plans to take out leaders of countries they perceive as enemies.
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FYI: You can choose multiple answers (up to 5) for this poll.
Which of the following do you believe to have been true about Saddam Hussein and Iraq in the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War?
- Saddam had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)
- Saddam posed a direct threat to the United States
- Saddam was connected to the 9/11 attacks
- Saddam had ties to Osama bin Laden and/or al-Qaeda
- None of the above
- Not sure
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voters
Looking back, do you believe the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was justified?
- Yes, it was justified
- No, it was not justified
- Not sure
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voters
How has your opinion of the Iraq War changed over time?
- I supported it then and still support it now
- I opposed it then and still oppose it now
- I supported it then, but now I oppose it now
- I opposed it then, but now I support it now
- I wasn’t sure then and still am not now
- My opinion has changed in other ways
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voters
I edited this to add the turban and the rest in 2004.
It sorta reflects on what, at the time, was found in Iraq regarding WMDs.
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The biggest reason for opposing regime change in Iraq is that it make Iran geopolitically stronger in the region.
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I’m not so sure. Assuming we can believe or make sense of anything anymore (which I don’t think we can), any new regime in Iran would probably be a vassal state of the US and Israel (I repeat myself) and effectively neutered.
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Iran was a vassal state of USA from 1953 to 1979
It’s too bad we couldn’t nip Iran in the bud in 1979 or 1980 or during the 10 year war vs Iraq
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Five years ago I would have enthusiastically agreed with you, but I’ve completely changed my mind on this point. I have tremendous sympathy for Iran (or any other country for that matter) for wanting to maintain its independence and for *not* wanting to “hitch its wagon” to the falling star that’s America and the West.
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Way back in the 50s the US and the UK meddled in Iran by orchestrating a coup to overthrow the elected leader of Iran. Actually, prior to that the British deposed the old Shah because he was pro-Germany.
During this period, I would agree that this could be described as trying to force Iran to “hitch its wagon” to the US. I don’t think that has been the case my entire adult life.
Iran has a long history of aggression towards its neighbors.
From 1980 to 1988 Iran was at war with Iraq. At least in large part due to ideological differences. This isn’t surprising nor US propaganda since the conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims dates back further than the crusades. The fact that the Saudi’s buy weapons from the US isn’t a mystery. It isn’t propaganda. They are not worried about an invasion from Russia or China.
Iran has funded unconventional war in various parts of the region. The most obvious being against Israel, but they also support the Houthis (Shai) attacks on the Yemen (Sunni) government. They also were heavily involved in the conflict in Syria to maintain the pro-Iranian Assad regime.
Their actions are driven by ideological differences. Ideological differences with Sunni, Jews and Western influence. There is an obvious pattern. These are not outside forces acting on Iran, but rather Iran using force in other countries. It is a stretch to excuse this behavior as an attempt to stay independent from the US.
One way to think about it is what would happen if the US didn’t have any involvement in the region. I think we already know the answer. No European nation provides direct financial aid or military support to Israel and yet the organizations supported by Iran have conducted terrorist attacks in multiple European nations.
It is one thing to be critical of the US and another to believe that every problem in the world was caused by the US.
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I apologize if I gave that impression as it was not my intention. The rest of the world is perfectly capable of creating its own problems—we shouldn’t be responsible for solving them, particularly when we’re having a really hard time solving our own (internal / domestic) problems.
Do we? I’m not so sure. If we had followed our founding fathers’ advice of “no foreign entanglements” from the get-go, we might be surprised at the outcome.
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Every problem … what I wrote was not correct. I didn’t mean to imply that you think every problem is due to the US.
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Let me climb back upon my hobby horse – the utter disgraceful failure of Western “democracy”, for which we all share part of the blame.
If we had a form of government which reflected the interests & concerns of the population, it is fairly clear that spending blood & gold on foreign entanglements would be very far down the list. And yet, it seems to be high up the list with our supposedly “representative” form of government.
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