>>>>>>I think you might be surprised in that. I don't think my view is a lot different form the average view here. We look at the US in a very different way since the republicans came to power. some links:
>>>>>
>>>>>I'm not surprised with news like this:
>>>>>
>>>>>http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/joshua/97278/dutch_intelligence:_u.s._strike_on_iran_likely_'within_weeks'/
>>>>
>>>>Sounds like the imperialistic Dutch were subverting and sabotaging a foreign country without the sanction of the EU or UN. tsk tsk. <s>
>>>
>>>imperialistic?
>>>
>>>As a raised american you should know that intelligence agencies do not need any resolutions. They operate in processes a step before resolutions are made up. We do not know what the AIVD exactly was doing there, so before drawing any conlcusion...
>>
>>I am just surprised that a culture as morally superior and evolved as that of the Netherlands would use espionage to interfere in the internal affairs of the Islamic Repubic. Perhaps they are in the pay of Royal Dutch Shell, the Royal Family, to subvert Iran and reestablish the Dutch Empire ?
>>
>>( this is tongue in cheek, Walter. I complete approve of any EU country doing anything it can to subvert the Iranians in their atomic designs or support for Hezbollah. But I would assume your personal politics would find the idea abhorent.)
>
>If we only had done this right in the case of iraq, then we never had to invade to search for none existing WMD and connections to al-qaida. intelligence is important in avoiding mass conflicts. However I'm convinced that the intelligence information was deliberately ignored because it did not fit into the geopolitical strategy.

My memory may be failing me here, but wasn't there a post sometime ago with a link to a news story about U.S. intel agents in Iran and everyone here slammed the U.S. for it? do you remember anything like that? (You may not have seen it or participated)...