War with Iran

1) U.S. ABM systems are able to shoot down ICBM's. In fact we already are prepared to shoot down North Korean ICBM's in the case of war with ABM missiles mounted on Aegis class missile cruisers. [1] So even in the very unlikely case Iran has the technology to develop an ICBM seeing as they've had 4 decades now, and even if Russia contributes to the Iranian cause so much so that Iran develops a nuclear warhead with an ICBM, we can shoot it down My opponents own source states that the ICBM Iran is trying to develop is based off of the Taepodong-2, which is the missile our ships can already shoot down. It will also have a shorter range than the Taepodong-2. When Iran has such a missile and such a warhead, and if Israel doesn't launch a preimptive strike, we can shoot it out of the sky. 2) You have provided no evidence to show why most of the Arab nations would even join in such a war. The Arab nations are not the military powers they once were. [2] They do not have millions of men and they aren't as well trained or as well armed as Israeli soldiers. Israel has a more powerful army and air force than those Arab nations [2]. You have not shown how several Arab countries would necessarily invade Israel. I don't think they will and I will show why many countries won't fight. Libya is currently in the middle of a civil war. [3] The Arabian peninsula houses several U.S. military bases. [4] There is a major U.S. occupation in Iraq, between Israel and Iran. [5] There is a major U.S. occupation in Afghanistan, right next to Iran. [6] So no country from the Arabian peninsula will fight since they are U.S. allies and allow us to house military installations in their territory, Libya has enough problems fighting rag tag rebels much less the proffesional forces of the IDF, Iran is essentially surrounded by U.S. military forces. So I ask, how do you come up with hundreds of thousands of soldiers invading Israel when the U.S. and U.S. allies have such a strong military presence in the middle east and Israeli enemies are experiencing so much civil unrest. Look at the globe, the only way for Iranian forces to reach Israel is to either go through Turkey, a member of NATO and a U.S. ally, or go through U.S. occupied Iraq where the U.S. has 50,000 armed soldiers as well as over U.S trained and equipped 800,000 Iraqi soldiers. [5] Iranian forces will be torn apart whether they go through Turkey or Iraq We also have a major military presence in Afghanistan where we can attack Iran from in the event they attack Israel. [6] 3a) Iran does not have nuclear weapons 3b) Iran does not have an ICBM 3c) If Iran manages to somehow get both we can shoot down their ICBM's down seeing as they will be based of the Taepodong-2 model and we are already prepared to shoot down North Korean Taepodong-2 missiles. [7][1] The Iranian president's threats carry no water. 4a) You did not show how so many nations would join in such a war when I showed why many key nations you claim would participate in this conflict, like Iran for one, would not be able to get involved. 4b) We have not withdrawn completely from Iraq. We currently have 50,000 troops in Iraq according to wikipedia, and seeing that you have cited wikipedia on two separate occasions, you think it is a reputable source as well. [5] I have also provided a source that states we do in fact have several military bases in Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, etc, effectively making your claim invalid. [4] "The cargo planes that we do have would most likely be shot down by the swarms of Arab fighter jets or S-300 air defense systems in the are." If the U.S. did not have stealth fighters and bombers capable of evading even the most advanced radar and AA systems then that would be a threat. [8][9] You act as though the U.S. would have difficulty establishing air superiority over Iran, Jordan, and Syria.[2] 5) My opponent has conceded the Human Rights premise. You need to show where Iran is assisting radical Islamic revolts. I haven't heard of any. It's pursuit of nuclear weapons is irrelevant. We can shoot down their missiles and Israel can defend itself and attack preimptively. It's threats of war carry no water. We have a strong military presence in the middle east, we have the most advanced planes in the world, and our enemies don't have the capacity to launch an attack capable of overrunning Israel. 6) The only way for Iranian forces to reach Israel is to march across the nation of Iraq which contains 50,000 U.S. soldiers and over 800,000 Iraqi soldiers. [5] Potential Israeli enemies also don't have powerful militaries. [2] Iran can't attack Israel without facing nearly a million allied soldiers and your own source states that the Iranian missile will be based off of the Taepodong-2 and will have a range of 1500 miles. [7] It will not be able to reach the U.S. and we can easily shoot it down.[1] No Germany was not. They were progressively building more military equipment as the war waged on. [10] They weren't militarily capable early on. For instance, when German soldiers invaded the Rhineland, they were given orders to retreat if the encountered allies. They did not. [11] Germany came to power through appeasement and they would not able to hold onto their territories in the event France and Britain decided to fight them. Germany was not strong, they were simply fattening off of the policy of appeasement. We will not make the same mistake with Iran In conclusion Iranian missiles will be able to be shot down by the U.S. seeing as they will be based off of North Korea's Taepodong-2, which we are already prepared to shoot down, and have shorter ranges. The U.S. has a strong military presence in the Middle East and I have the sources showing we do. We can easily stop an invasion. Many Israeli enemies can't attack and the ones that can posses weak militaries. Iran is blocked, Libya is in a war of their own, and Egypt is next to the Arabian peninsula which houses several U.S. military bases. Syria, Jordan, etc don't have militaries comparable to Israel and I have sources for that as well. For these reasons the U.S. has no reason to sacrifice the tremendous sacrifices of resources and men required in a war with Iran. I therefore call on the voters to vote Con. Sources: [1] http://www.spacewar.com... (U.S. is able to shoot down ICBM's from Aegis class missile cruisers.) [2] http://www.globalfirepower.com... (Listing of military strengths by each country, potential Israeli enemies are far below) [3] http://en.wikipedia.org... (Ongoing civil war in Libya where the Libyan government is fighting hard to put down inadequately trained and armed rebels) [4] http://www.globemaster.de... (list of U.S. military bases with several being located in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan etc) [5] http://en.wikipedia.org... (U.S. presence in Iraq and Iraqi military strength. 50,000 U.S. soldiers and 800,000+ Iraqi soldiers) [6] http://en.wikipedia.org...(2001%E2%80%93present) (Amount of U.S. soldiers in Afganistan, 90,000) [7] http://www.jcpa.org... (My opponents source which claims that the Iranian ICBM will be based of the North Korean Taepodong-2) [8] http://en.wikipedia.org... (U.S. F-22 Raptor. 5th generation stealth fighter. The U.S. is the only nation to have a 5th generation fighter) [9] http://en.wikipedia.org... (U.S. B-2 stealth bomber.)