| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
11 Dec 2007 08:29:29 AM |
| Object: |
Republicans just luuuuuuv to start wars, don't they. |
On October 17 of this year Our Great Leader held a press conference at
the White House, where the following exchange took place:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071017.html
Q:
But you definitively believe Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon?
THE PRESIDENT:
I think so long -- until they suspend and/or make it clear that they
-- that their statements aren't real, yeah, I believe they want to
have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon.
And I know it's in the world's interest to prevent them from doing so.
I believe that the Iranian -- if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would
be a dangerous threat to world peace.
But this -- we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to
destroy Israel.
So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War
III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from
have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.
I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously.
Aaaaaaahhh!
World War III!
Quick, everybody panic!
We must bomb Iran as soon as possible!
Now let's fast forward to last week, when this happened:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/03/ST2007120300896.html
A major U.S. intelligence review has concluded that Iran stopped work
on a suspected nuclear weapons program more than four years ago, a
stark reversal of previous intelligence assessments that Iran was
actively moving toward a bomb.
The new findings, drawn from a consensus National Intelligence
Estimate, reflected a surprising shift in the midst of the Bush
administration's continuing political and diplomatic campaign to
depict Tehran's nuclear development as a grave threat.
The report was drafted after an extended internal debate over the
reliability of communications intercepts of Iranian conversations this
past summer that suggested the program had been suspended.
"Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is
less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging
since 2005," a declassified summary of the new National Intelligence
Estimate stated.
Two years ago, the intelligence community said in contrast it had
"high confidence that Iran currently is determined to have nuclear
weapons."
The new estimate, prepared by the nation's 16 intelligence agencies,
applied the same "high confidence" label to a judgment that suspected
Iranian military efforts to build a nuclear weapon were suspended in
2003 and said with "moderate confidence" that it had remained inactive
since then.
But... but... if the National Intelligence Estimate shows that Iran
stopped pursuing nuclear weapons four years ago, why has the president
been going around threatening everyone with the specter of World War
III?
Especially since, according to Raw Story:
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CNN_Seymour_Hersh_vindicated_by_new_1205.html
As early as July 2006, (Seymour) Hersh had reported that the US
military was resisting administration pressure for a bombing campaign
in Iran, because "American and European intelligence agencies have not
found specific evidence of clandestine activities or hidden
facilities."
By November 2006, Hersh's sources had told him of "a highly classified
draft assessment by the C.I.A.," which concluded that satellite
monitoring and sophisticated radiation-detection devices planted near
Iranian facilities had turned up absolutely no evidence of a nuclear
weapons program.
However, Bush and Cheney were expected to try to keep those
conclusions out of the forthcoming NIE on Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Well see, it turns out that the answer is quite simple.
At a press conference last week, George W. Bush explained himself:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071204-4.html
Q:
Mr. President, thank you. I'd like to follow on that.
When you talked about Iraq, you and others in the administration
talked about a mushroom cloud; then there were no WMD in Iraq.
When it came to Iran, you said in October, on October 17th, you warned
about the prospect of World War III, when months before you made that
statement, this intelligence about them suspending their weapons
program back in '03 had already come to light to this administration.
So can't you be accused of hyping this threat? And don't you worry
that that undermines U.S. credibility?
THE PRESIDENT:
David, I don't want to contradict an august reporter such as yourself,
but I was made aware of the NIE last week.
In August, I think it was Mike McConnell came in and said, we have
some new information.
He didn't tell me what the information was;
he did tell me it was going to take a while to analyze.
Hmm.
So let's quickly recap:
GEORGE W. BUSH, OCT 17 2007: "I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear
weapon very seriously."
GEORGE W. BUSH, DEC 4 2007: "In August, I think it was Mike McConnell
came in and said, we have some new information. He didn't tell me what
the information was."
Way to go, chucklenuts.
But not so fast!
Last week Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo noted that George W.
Bush may only be pretending to be an incompetent moron, whereas in
reality he is a lying *****.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/060217.php
When you look back at his speeches, there's evidence that the
president was shifting his terms because he knew that the intelligence
on which his push for war was based was likely to collapse.
If you go back to his October 17th press conference, the one where he
spoke of 'World War III' he changes his wording.
It's no longer the need to prevent the Iranians from getting the bomb.
Now it's the necessity of "preventing them from hav(ing) the knowledge
necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
That's the tell.
That change is no accident.
He wants claims that will survive the eventual revelation of this new
intelligence -- while also continuing to hype the imminence of the
Iranian nuclear threat that his spy chiefs are telling him likely does
not exist.
Remember how after the Iraq debacle - after the world discovered that
there was absolutely no reason to invade Iraq - the Bush
administration claimed that if you checked their words very carefully,
they never actually said that Saddam Hussein was connected to al
Qaeda?
Ring any bells?
Because that's exactly what they're trying to do here, only this time
they got caught before they could start dropping bombs.
But don't let your guard down just yet.
With an army of radio talk show hosts and friendly mainstream media
talking heads on their side, the Bush administration hasn't given up.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/04/bush_nie_report_backs_position_in_iran/7547/
Despite the fact that there is apparently no evidence that Iran has a
nuclear weapons program...
The conclusion Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program bolstered his
belief Iran poses a nuclear threat, U.S. President George Bush said
Tuesday.
"Iran was dangerous. Iran is dangerous. Iran will be dangerous if they
have the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon," Bush said during a news
conference that dealt mainly with the National Intelligence Estimate's
report on the 2003 suspension Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Bush said the NIE was a rallying cry to the international community
"to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend" its nuclear program.
Go figure.
By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Harry
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| User: "Sanders Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: Republicans just luuuuuuv to start wars, don't they. |
11 Dec 2007 03:35:38 PM |
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"Harry Hope" <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:2m7tl3lh8n88jstckor5ce04fbcdn7u1u0@4ax.com...
THE PRESIDENT:
I think so long -- until they suspend and/or make it clear that they
-- that their statements aren't real, yeah, I believe they want to
have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon.
And I know it's in the world's interest to prevent them from doing so.
I believe that the Iranian -- if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would
be a dangerous threat to world peace.
Somwhere, his remedial Enlgish teacher is eating a bullet.
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