from NBC News:

 

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Central Command is aggressively planning a naval buildup in the Persian Gulf, including the addition of a second aircraft carrier, in response to a series of aggressive actions by Iran, U.S. military officials told NBC News on Tuesday.

 

The officials pointed to Iran's interference in Iraq ? including its support for Shiite militants and shipments of improvised explosive devices into the country ? recent military naval exercises in the Gulf, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

 

The attempt at "gunboat diplomacy" is in its final planning stages. Although it has not been approved yet, it appears likely the increase in U.S. warships into the Gulf could come as early as January, the officials said.

 

On Monday, the Bush administration said Iran was making headway in building nuclear weapons as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to iron out differences with Russia over a U.N. resolution designed to stop the program with economic sanctions.

 

While not predicting when Iran would join the nuclear club, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Iranians were trying to perfect technology to enrich uranium. Iran has denied an effort to build nuclear weapons and says its work is for energy development.

 

?It?s a very tricky matter of perfecting centrifuge technology so you can actually enrich all the uranium,? McCormack said. ?So, yes, they are going along their way in trying to go down the various pathways.?

 

The spokesman provided no details of Rice?s telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. ?They went over some of the outstanding issues,? McCormack said.

 

Russia, which has close economic ties with Iran, has favored diplomacy over punitive sanctions, but the Bush administration is hoping Moscow may be prepared to approve a watered-down resolution at the U.N. Security Council.

 

?We are hopeful that we can get a vote in the very near future. It is time for a vote,? McCormack said. ?I think we need to see a vote on this in a matter of days.?

 

The United States and its European allies have proposed offering Iran economic concessions in exchange for halting its enrichment of uranium, a key part of the process of building nuclear weapons.

 

Link

I don't like this. Sounds like we are preparing for something more serious with Iran in the near future.

impeach the president, save the world

I don't like this. Sounds like we are preparing for something more serious with Iran in the near future.

 

We should be preparing for something more serious. We must be ready for any altercation, and we must be prepared for to defend ourselves, our allies, and our interests globally. This is a country that has called for Israel "to be wiped off the map" and saying "it's days are numbered" they have also said the days of the U.S. "being the lone superpower are numbered" and that "the end is near."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran are not stupid. They know that going to war with the U.S. is going to war with the greatest military power in history. There are two certian outcomes in a war between Iran and the U.S., millions dead and a U.S. victory. We must be prepared and ready to defend ourselves. If I am playing my deck of cards right, there will be an altercation with Iran before January 20th, 2009.

impeach the president, save the world

Appeasing Iran will not "save the world", especially since Mahmoud has stated he wants to bring about the apocalypse.

The Iranian people don't want a conflict. It looks like Iran's president is going to lose a lot of local elections to politicians with less of a hardline stance in foreign affairs.

The Iranian people don't want a conflict. It looks like Iran's president is going to lose a lot of local elections to politicians with less of a hardline stance in foreign affairs.

 

In fact they just had local elections in Iran and most of the politicians elected do not support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad anti- US policy.

The Iranian people don't want a conflict. It looks like Iran's president is going to lose a lot of local elections to politicians with less of a hardline stance in foreign affairs.

 

In fact they just had local elections in Iran and most of the politicians elected do not support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad anti- US policy.

Exactly. The only ones who would want a war with the U.S. (and that is up for debate) is Ahmadinejad and perhaps the cleric leaders of Iran.

 

I think that most of the anti-Israel posturing is just that, posturing. He has not done anything to indicate that he wants to launch attacks on Israel.

He just recently had a meeting stating that the Holocaust never happened? What a nut job.

Yeah, it's a silly opinion to have, but he has every right in the world to hold one. They didn't kill anyone and they didn't blow anyone up, they just talked. Nothing wrong with that just like there's nothing wrong with the KKK or the Neo Nazis unless they start blowing people up or killing people.

Well it doesnt matter who wins the elections, Iran will do whatever Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says. He is the supreme leader after all.

The Ayatollah should know better than doing something a large chunk of the country has a problem against. Coups aren't exactly a thing of the past.

The Ayatollah should know better than doing something a large chunk of the country has a problem against. Coups aren't exactly a thing of the past.

 

True but the religious people within the country will follow the ayatollah almost blindly

The Ayatollah should know better than doing something a large chunk of the country has a problem against. Coups aren't exactly a thing of the past.

 

True but the religious people within the country will follow the ayatollah almost blindly

The religious fanatics are in the minority in Iran.

The Ayatollah should know better than doing something a large chunk of the country has a problem against. Coups aren't exactly a thing of the past.

 

True but the religious people within the country will follow the ayatollah almost blindly

The religious fanatics are in the minority in Iran.

It'll be a great day for the Middle East if the moderate majority in Iran can overcome the insane minority.

The Ayatollah should know better than doing something a large chunk of the country has a problem against. Coups aren't exactly a thing of the past.

 

True but the religious people within the country will follow the ayatollah almost blindly

The religious fanatics are in the minority in Iran.

 

True but the religious minority has the bigger guns right now. And regardless you dont have to be a religious 'fanatic' to follow the Ayatollah's lead.

Yes, unfortunately the fanatics have the power in Iran. However, you never know when a coup might happen there, especially if Iran is hit hard by sanctions due to their nuclear stance.

Yes, unfortunately the fanatics have the power in Iran. However, you never know when a coup might happen there, especially if Iran is hit hard by sanctions due to their nuclear stance.

 

Sanctions. Laughable. Most of the nations that will abide by the sanctions dont currently have relations with Iran anyway.