"The gates of Hell"... or: "mine are bigger than yours!"... and be VERY AFRAID!

From Fox New's Republican debate, 10 Jan 2008

The Candidates responding to question from Britt Hume:

... did the American commander in the Strait of Hormuz the other day make the right decision by responding passively when approached aggressively by Iranian fast boats believed to be from the Revolutionary Guards?

HUCKABEE: ... I think we need to make it very clear, not just to the Iranians, but to anybody, that if you think you're going to engage the United States military, be prepared not simply to have a battle. Be prepared, first, to put your sights on the American vessel. And then be prepared that the next things you see will be the gates of Hell, because that is exactly what you will see after that.

THOMPSON: ... I think I agree with the governor on that. You can't take the judgment like that out of the hands of the officers on the ground there. I think one more step and they would have been introduced to those virgins that they're looking forward to seeing.

GIULIANI: ... I think an incident like this reminds us that we shouldn't be lulled into some false sense of confidence about Iran. We have to be very focused on the fact that Iran should not be allowed to become a nuclear power. We should make it very, very clear that we're not going to allow that...

MCCAIN: I agree with Rudy. Maybe the Iranians think we're weaker because of the NIE. Maybe the Iranians aren't really slowing their export of most lethal explosive devices into Iraq...

ROMNEY: ... I think Iran represents a very serious threat. I do not believe this action was taken by rogue elements within the Iranian forces. I believe it was calculated...

... and the voice of reason? Brace yourself!

PAUL: I would certainly urge a lot more caution than I'm hearing here tonight. It reminds me of what happened in the Gulf of Tonkin. We went to war there, then, later on, found out there was a lot of false information.

Huckabee & Thompson: "gates of hell" & "virgins."
McCain & Romney (the "serious" ones): Don't believe the NIE... and the Iranians are a very serious threat!

Be afraid. Be very afraid!

(... be afraid of these guys! They'll have us in a third war within a year - with Iran. $500Bn in Iraq/Afghanistan isn't enough for 'em!)

Stop the madness!