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OOH! A HELPFUL CHART ON IRAN-US RELATIONS!
Is Iran a threat to the existence of the United States? Joltin' Joe Lieberman says yes:
Obviously Israel is first in the line of Iranian fire. And it represents an existential threat to Israel. But you know who is next? The Arab countries in the Middle East and they’re worried about the Iranian program and want us to ask strongly to stop it. And we’re next! Because Ahmadinejad in Tehran constantly leads the mobs in shouts of death to America. And they mean it.
Whoa, that's, like, pretty scary! We should stop Ahmadinejad before he marches into the Rhineland. But can we? Is it too late to prevent the emergence of this new world power? Fortunately, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has prepared a helpful chart:
| UNITED STATES | IRAN | |
| Population | 303,824,646 | 65,875,223 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | $13.8 trillion | $0.75 trillion |
| Defense spending fiscal year 2009 | $711 billion | $7.2 billion |
| Total troops | 2,580,875 | 895,000 |
| Main battle tanks | 8,023 | 1,613 |
| Reconnaissance vehicles | 348 | 35 |
| Armored infantry fighting vehicles | 6,719 | 610 |
| Armored personnel carriers | 21,242 | 640 |
| Artillery units | 8,041 | 8,196 |
| Helicopters | 5,425 | 311 |
| Submarines | 71 | 6 |
| Principal surface combatants | 106 | 5 |
| Patrol and coastal combatants | 157 | 320 |
| Mine warfare ships | 9 | 5 |
| Amphibious ships | 490 | 21 |
| Fighter aircraft | 3,538 | 286 |
| Long-range bomber aircraft | 170 | None |
| Transport aircraft | 883 | 136 |
| Electronic warfare/intelligence aircraft | 159 | 3 |
| Reconnaissance aircraft | 134 | 6 |
| Maritime patrol aircraft | 197 | 8 |
| Anti-submarine warfare aircraft | 58 | None |
| Airborne early warning aircraft | 53 | None |
| Nuclear warheads | ~5,400 | None |
Er ... Joe? There seems to be, uh, a discrepancy...
--Robert Farley
COMMENTS (7)
Are you blind? They're kicking our ass in patrol and coastal combatants!
*hides under bed*
Posted by: Forrester | July 8, 2008 11:27 AM
Apparently, Little Joe saw "The Mouse That Roared" and thought it was a documentary.
Posted by: mrgumby2u | July 8, 2008 11:57 AM
It's those ~150 more artillery pieces that has me worried.
Posted by: Col Bat Guano | July 8, 2008 12:02 PM
Those stats are a bit scarier than they look. What happens to the U.S. column when you subtract all of our committed resources? I suspect all we have left is the air power to bomb them back to the stone age. Think of it as Iraq redux.
They clearly out man us. Not invading is not only the right thing, its the prudent thing. However, if I were Israel I'd be concerned. Just because Joe L. is an irredeemable a-hole doesn't mean that Iran isn't capable of being destructive.
Posted by: Steve | July 9, 2008 12:54 PM
You should add counts for "crazy and scary religious fanatics" to your tallies. I expect the U.S. has the overwhelming lead there as well.
Posted by: K | July 9, 2008 12:57 PM
Shame on all of you! You are acting like it is a good thing that we have this huge military. This is the rightwing conservative view! We should have been putting all our money into day care centres and health insurance and welfare, not funding a huge military.
Let Russia and China and Iran and countries like that build up huge armies and navies and air forces if they want to. We should lead by example and disarm.
Posted by: Doug | July 9, 2008 6:19 PM
my dear!
since 1798 !! iran did not attack any country in the world.
in this time USA attacked more than 25 countrys and killed more than 25000000 innocent people.
dont worry!
regards
sj
Posted by: schmittson j. | July 10, 2008 10:34 AM