Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

apnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 560 posts

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#151

Post by reillyse »

msgodel wrote: post #13
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Iraq and Gaza was an absolute joke compared to what it would take to topple the Iranian militants, militias, and government It wouldn't be a cake walk. But America could topple the government in Tehran about as easily as it did in Baghdad or, frankly, Kabul. The problem in Iraq and Afghanistan wasn't a failure to decapitate the opposing state. It was in filling the vacuum that left.

Why are we toppling all these foreign governments and creating instability that breads terrorism in places that otherwise have nothing to do with us? This seems so exceptionally counter productive.

The only explanation that makes sense to me, is that there are some psychopaths in charge of American foreign policy and their thinking goes like this.

1) we want to control oil and oil prices because it’s crucial to our bank accounts. 2) if the Middle East unites we will lose control over oil 3) we must make sure they never unite 4) we need to support varying regimes to increase instability in the region. If we keep the Middle East fighting we can continue to extract oil.

Lots has changed since 50s so one would think this strategy would get updated, but it seems it has not.

(Also for the record I think this is abhorrent, but I think some people do think like this)

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#153

Post by v5v3 »

bevr1337 wrote: post #98
CommanderData wrote: post #91

There's good reason to believe lots of western apps have back doors, if not backdoors served to countries like Iran from app stores. Also car tech and cameras. Literally a wet dream if I worked at a three letter agency, real time surveillance of streets which is actually extremely difficult normally. Can't think of how many times I've wanted a recent picture of a street or house miles away, with 360 car cameras you c…

> There's good reason to believe lots of western apps have back doors A common sentiment in this thread. My gut and practical experience both tell me this is true on some level, but how do folks distinguish tinfoil hat conspiracy from legitimate speculation?

Did you read all the Snowden files?

The NSA, and it's partners, capabilities and the lengths it is willing to go to are staggering.

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#154

Post by luckylion »

anticodon wrote: post #56
yuvalr1 wrote: post #44

I'm surprised reading that the Iranian's regime concerns are centered on WhatsApp sharing information with Israel. It is much more likely that WhatsApp have 0-day vulnerabilities used by the Mossad to gain the info than WhatsApp actively sharing it.

Russian soldiers participating in SMO reported multiple times that after they exchange texts and photos with their relatives in WhatsApp, that information ends up in Ukrainian military HQs next day. With photos. And later used, for example, to harass the relatives of the soldier. Could be some other mechanism (e.g. Google Drive or some other kind of malware), hard to be sure in the world, where since 2011 Snowden's r…

Russian soldiers chatting with their family know what precisely happens in the Ukrainian military HQ the next day? That sounds too crazy to be even remotely true, and too convenient a story ("they are harassing your family, go murder someone").

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#155

Post by whatshisface »

swat535 wrote: post #125
MoonGhost wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Will this result in bloody civil war like in Iraq and minimal dysfunctional central government after?

I’m another Iranian but I’m not actively living in Iran. I agree with others here that regime really needs to go but I of course share your fear of what could happen to Iran once the central government is weakened. Currently there are multiple tiers of special forces keeepinf various groups in check, however once this is gone, things could get ugly. I worry about my family living there, we have been having a hard tim…

You may know more about this than I do, but what happened in Iraq was that the first military governor held together the same people who were under Saddam in a semi-stable arrangement, but was replaced with someone else that had instructions from Washington to conduct "De-Ba'athification," for some reason. This lead quickly to the collapse of the state due to the persecution of everyone who had any authority, and the replacement of Iraqi systems with military administration at all levels down to the villages as far as it could be maintained, which created the ten year war.

I do not think it would be to the benefit of people who live in Iran, even if they were Christian, to live through the bombings and mass destruction of the proposed war in exchange for life under US territorial administration, which has not been very good historically.

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#156

Post by JumpCrisscross »

reillyse wrote: post #117
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re being dramatic. We installed the Shah [EDIT: as an autocrat] with the ‘53 coup [1]. That was our original sin. But the Islamic Republic wasn’t an American creation. Neither was Saddam’s Iraq or the Mujahideen or Al Qaeda. We variously facilitated, opposed and ignored these elements, mostly the last. Ignoring the Soviet history in the region, together with the fact that Iranians aren’t automatons, but human be…

If describing events that took place is being dramatic , then I guess so? Imagine if someone installed a puppet king in the USA to exploit the resources of the US for their gain, would you think that would be dramatic? As for the Islamic revolution, it was a reaction to being colonized and subjugated, and I would argue it’s still around because the only other option is being a puppet of the US.

> Imagine if someone installed a puppet king in the USA to exploit the resources of the US for their gain

Literally the colonial governors.

> it’s still around because the only other option is being a puppet of the US

Iran didn’t have to become a hardline theocracy, or a state sponsor of terror, or a nuclear pariah. The IRGC didn’t have to be corrupt and autocratic [1].

The tragedy of the present is it still doesn’t have to be. And while we contributed to the malaise that gave rise to the Islamic Republic (and continue to contribute to its geopolitical insecurity), it’s a step too far to say we caused it.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_surrounding_th...

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#157

Post by v5v3 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #12
ty6853 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Iraq and Gaza was an absolute joke compared to what it would take to topple the Iranian militants, militias, and government. Much of the terrain is similar to Afghanistan. Tribal islamic alliances are resilient against loss of central governance. There is a massive porous mountainous border to 2+ countries that conceivably will look the other way for certain islamic militants. I know everyone wants to gobble down the…

> Iraq and Gaza was an absolute joke compared to what it would take to topple the Iranian militants, militias, and government It wouldn't be a cake walk. But America could topple the government in Tehran about as easily as it did in Baghdad or, frankly, Kabul. The problem in Iraq and Afghanistan wasn't a failure to decapitate the opposing state. It was in filling the vacuum that left.

Iraq and Afghanistan lacked friends though.

Iranian Regime has strong backing from Brics and others.

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#158

Post by figmert »

msgodel wrote: post #69
reillyse wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The USA created the current Iranian regime by installing a puppet and then getting butt hurt when their puppet was ousted. A real freedom for us tyranny for you situation. Then the USA created the Saddam regime in Iraq to fight the Iranian regime and that went great. And now the USA is supporting Israel to terrorize the Middle East in their name and with their bombs and that’s going swimmingly too. Top job everyone.

It seems like an infinite pit we throw money and lives into only to make things worse.

Well the nearly $900 billion dollars budget the US military has, has to be spent somehow.

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#159

Post by JumpCrisscross »

v5v3 wrote: post #157
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Iraq and Gaza was an absolute joke compared to what it would take to topple the Iranian militants, militias, and government It wouldn't be a cake walk. But America could topple the government in Tehran about as easily as it did in Baghdad or, frankly, Kabul. The problem in Iraq and Afghanistan wasn't a failure to decapitate the opposing state. It was in filling the vacuum that left.

Iraq and Afghanistan lacked friends though. Iranian Regime has strong backing from Brics and others.

> Iranian Regime has strong backing from Brics and others

The BRICS meme from a security standpoint is hollower than the financial one.

Russia and China have no interest (the former, ability) in getting enmeshed in another Anglo-Iranian war. Most of the oil travelling through the Strait of Hormuz goes to Chinese refineries; they really don’t want this to escalate. Both would probably make the occupation phase painful for Americans. Like we did for the Soviets. And the Iranians did for us. But that’s again post-regime change, the part we’ve never figured out how to do since the Marshall Plan, and not in the toppling of the regime bit, which we’re ridiculously good at.

The evidence for the above is the current lack of military or intelligence support anyone is providing Iran.

Re: Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp from their devices

#160

Post by [deleted] »

platevoltage wrote: post #140
toast0 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A stable Iran seems to be doing a pretty good job of breeding terrorism, too though. If we're being extremely generous, the goal of regime change would be to bring a new stability with economic prosperity and inclusion as well as more meaningful political inclusion, so as to reduce the amount of marginalized population with nothing to loose that are easy to recruit for terrorism. Of course, when the nation building f…

You've got to be kidding me. The US actively supports and runs interference for the biggest terror state in the Middle East right now. We are also buddy buddy with another country in the Middle East that dismembered one of our journalists and provided most of the 9/11 high jackers.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN