"US sees peril if Israel strikes Iran; War game exercise shows probable regional conflict" by Mark Mazzetti | New York Times, March 20, 2012
WASHINGTON - A classified war simulation exercise held this month to assess the repercussions of an Israeli attack on Iran forecasts that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead, according to US officials.
It will lead to WWIII as some want, but why will we be drawn in?
Related: Panetta: US Will Assist Israel Attack On Iran
Yeah, we are being drawn in, right.
The officials said the so-called war game was not designed as a rehearsal for US military action - and they emphasized that the exercise’s results were not the only possible outcome of a real-world conflict.
Meaning it was designed as a rehearsal.
But the game has raised fears among top US planners that it may be impossible to preclude US involvement in any escalating confrontation with Iran, the officials said.
As long as we don't have a government willing to tell Israel to fuck off. For me personally, I'm sick of the country's foreign policy being held hostage to a foreign power's interest.
In the debate among policymakers over the consequences of any possible Israeli attack, that reaction may give stronger voice to those within the White House, Pentagon, and intelligence community who have warned that a strike could prove perilous for the United States.
And they are supposed to be our "friend?" What kind of friend cares only about how they can use you?
The results of the war game were particularly troubling to General James N. Mattis, who commands all US forces in the Middle East, Persian Gulf, and Southwest Asia, according to officials who either participated in the Central Command exercise or who where briefed on the results and spoke on condition of anonymity because of its classified nature.
When the exercise had concluded earlier this month, according to the officials, Mattis told aides that an Israeli first strike would probably have dire consequences across the region and for US forces there.
Yes, the resulting fallout is going to have our fleet sunk in the Persian Gulf and our armed forces wiped out when China, Russia, and Pakistan side with Iran.
Sorry, 'murkns, but this is not 1941. The PLANNED DESTRUCTION of your MANUFACTURING BASE means you are going to LOSE THIS WAR into which ISRAEL is DRAGGING YOU!!
"Friend" Israel is going to cause the DOWNFALL of your AmeriKan empire!
The two-week war game, called “Internal Look,’’ played out a narrative in which the United States found it was pulled into the conflict after Iranian missiles struck a US Navy warship in the Persian Gulf, killing about 200 Americans, according to officials with knowledge of the exercise. The United States then retaliated by launching its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
So is THAT the NEXT FALSE FLAG that is going to propel us into the NEXT WAR? Another U.S.S. LIBERTY EVENT? Or is the nuking of Chicago via Al-CIA-Duh using an alleged Iranian bomb still in the back pocket of the manipulating, globe-kicking managers?
The initial Israeli attack was assessed to have set back the Iranian nuclear program by roughly a year, and the subsequent US strikes did not slow the Iranian nuclear program by more than an additional two years.
A program that is DEVOTED TO ENERGY not arms, but THAT POINT SEEMS LOST in my WAR-PROMOTING "newspaper."
However, other Pentagon planners said America’s arsenal of long-range bombers, refueling aircraft, and precision missiles could do far more damage to the Iranian nuclear program - if President Obama were to decide on a full-scale retaliation.
The exercise was designed specifically to test internal military communications and coordination among battle staffs in the Pentagon, Central Command headquarters in Tampa, and the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of an Israeli strike. But the exercise was written to assess a pressing, potential, real-world situation.
But it wasn't a rehearsal when everyone already knows "there is a “strong likelihood’’ that Israel would strike Iran in April, May, or June."
In the end, the war game reinforced to military officials the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of a strike by Israel, and a counterstrike by Iran, the officials said.
Some military specialists in the United States and in Israel believe that the last thing Iran would want is a full-scale war on its territory. They argue that Iran would not directly strike US military targets.
Yes, and they are DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO AVOID ONE!!! Therefore, the question must be asked: WHO DOES WANT ONE?!
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A less fatal, more fun game:
"Final Four run gives MIT team a crash course" March 16, 2012|By John Powers
College basketball teams good enough to play for a national championship usually get perks - separate dorms, lavish dressing quarters, special tutoring. All MIT’s players want is Wi-Fi on road trips. “Because it’s hard to take four or five hours when you can’t get work done,’’ said point guard Mitchell Kates, who is majoring in computer science. “So if you can get two or three hours done on the bus it makes it that much easier. We had one ride last year where we couldn’t connect to the Internet and a bunch of the players were pretty upset.’’
The Engineers, who lost just one game out of 30 this year, may be playing Friday night in the Division III Final Four, the small-school version of March Madness. But, unlike most Division 1 tournament-bound players, they are not getting much of a break from their studies and are still turning in problem sets and taking exams. Noel Hollingsworth, MIT’s strapping 6-foot-9-inch center, had to take an economics midterm last week in Lancaster, Pa., on the morning of the NCAA regional playoff game against Staten Island.
Relatively few of Hollingsworth’s Division 1 counterparts were dealing with course requirements as part of their game-day preparations....
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"NCAA finds enthusiastic audience in Boston; College sports off the back burner" by Shira Springer | Globe Staff, March 20, 2012
The management at Four’s Restaurant and Sports Bar, just around the corner from TD Garden, knows what customers want. Last Saturday, with a choice between the Bruins-Flyers game and NCAA men’s basketball tournament action, 16 wall-mounted televisions were tuned to pro hockey while six showed college basketball. Fans broadcast their allegiances with Bruins jerseys, Celtics T-shirts, and Red Sox and Patriots hats.
“There’s no question Boston is predominantly a pro sports town,’’ said Four’s manager Jim Taggart. “Everyone else ranks a distant 10th to the Bruins, Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics.’’
True.
Still, above all, Boston sports fans embrace big, potentially history-making events. That helps explain the draw of the NCAA East Regional, which starts Thursday at TD Garden....
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For the record, readers, I have been playing tournament quality ball myself lately. Loving it for as long as it lasts.
