There’s plenty of discussion about how the threatened U.S. military attack on Syria is really a way of sending a “message” to Iran. And some media accounts inaccurately portray what is known about Iran.
Take this Washington Post news story (9/10/13), by Paul Kane and Ed O’Keefe, about the pro-war lobbying underway by AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee):
An AIPAC official said the group is playing an active role because it sees a direct connection between the Syria crisis and Iran’s effort to get nuclear weapons. “If America is not resolute with Iran’s proxy Syria on using unconventional weapons, it will send the wrong message to Tehran about their effort to obtain unconventional weapons,” said the AIPAC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the effort.
The Post would seem to be portraying “Iran’s effort to get nuclear weapons” as if it were a fact. It’s not–it’s an allegation. Either that, or the Post is granting a source anonymity to make a claim that goes further than the facts allow.
This isn’t a new problem for the Post; in December 2011 the group Just Foreign Policy noted that the Post was running a Web feature with the headline, “Iran’s Quest to Possess Nuclear Weapons.” After readers sent messages to Post ombud Patrick Pexton, the headline was changed (“Iran’s Quest to Possess Nuclear Technology”).
As Pexton wrote (12/9/11), the International Atomic Energy Agency “does not say Iran has a bomb, nor does it say it is building one, only that its multiyear effort pursuing nuclear technology is sophisticated and broad enough that it could be consistent with building a bomb.”
The Post no longer has an ombud, but Douglas Feaver is acting as the paper’s “Reader Representative.” He can be reached at readers@washpost.com.
I would very much like to see someone address the cause and effect the international bankers who have financed both sides of war from its inception up until now,have on our current and future existence on this planet.It has occurred to me that if this country continues let this entity control it,s finance,s then we are hopelessly doomed to more of the same
I’m not surprised that AIPAC’s spin is full of lies and distortions.
My question is why the WP/Amazon would quote AIPAC in the first place.
Well we do have to take into account that this part of the world lies like a rug.A persian rug in this case.Didn’t we believe Syria when they said they had no WMDs up until about a week ago.Now there is reports that their stock came from……IRAQ!Moved out as we suspected before Bush went in.Iran is a consummate liar.In so many things it is really to time consuming to even go into.Everything in that part of the world has a heaping helping of crazy thrown in.So that is all a given.As far as Iran goes I tryly believe we simply no longer have the resources to interdict them.As Sen Imhoffe said…..since Obama has eviscerated the military we have a hollow poorly prepared force.Far less than half what it was when bush led.One fourth would be closer to the mark.And what is left is being eaten alive by budget cuts.People this country is collapsing.We no longer can afford or have the capability to get involved.Sorry we spent(and screwed) “the pooch.