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Selling The Fireball - George Bush And Iran

Friday, June 27, 2008
Posted in Peace | Tagged Peace

When George Bush arrived in Britain last week as part of his “farewell tour”, the real reasons for the visit were buried well out of sight. The tour was not, as the Guardian suggested, a mere “continental au revoir”. The purpose was to coerce Gordon Brown into raising troop levels in Afghanistan and to support toughened sanctions on Iran. Bush said pressure on Iran was necessary to “solve this problem diplomatically”, but warned: “Iranians must understand, however, that all options are on the table.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7456081.stm)

The remarks raised fears in London that Bush is “determined to take action against Iran before he leaves office in January,” the Independent reported. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/bush-threatens-iran-with-military-action-848488.html)

Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned that any attack on Iran would transform the region into a “ball of fire.” Even from the West’s point of view an attack would be disastrous:

“A military strike would spark the launch of an emergency programme to make atomic weapons, with the support of all Iranians, including those living abroad.” (http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWSpmwY-Ckcf_V2Kf5RRNOgDh7Hg)

ElBaradei added that an attack would make it impossible for him to continue as head of the IAEA.

In support of Bush warmongering, French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared, on cue:

“Today, the most immediate threat is that of a terrorist attack. Thanks to the effectiveness of our security forces, France has not been attacked in recent years. But the threat is there, it is real and we know that it could tomorrow take on a new form, even more serious, by nuclear, chemical and biological means.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7458650.stm)

Sarkozy’s propaganda contribution was splashed all over the BBC website as “Breaking News.” The previous weekend, the Times had hinted at machinations behind the scenes, noting that “the French President has quite deliberately donned the mantle once worn by Tony Blair, defiantly - even triumphantly - talking up his love for all things American”. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4133574.ece)

Sarkozy had delighted Washington by saying the West must choose between “an Iranian bomb and the bombing of Iran”. “The frost is over,” according to one French government aide. “We want to show the warmth that now exists between the two countries after the frictions of the recent past.” (Ibid)

The “warmth” translates as French obedience to US power - a policy change which will make France far more, not less, likely to be targeted for terrorist attack, particularly if Iran becomes the next victim of a US-led terrorist ‘coalition‘.

To read the rest of this media alert, please go to:

http://www.medialens.org/alerts/index.php

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GUEST MEDIA ALERT: DAVID PETERSON RESPONDS TO OLIVER KAMM

Yesterday, we published a media alert (http://www.medialens.org/alerts/08/080625_selling_the_fireball.php), in which we discussed our exchange with Times commentator, Bronwen Maddox. In response, Times commentator Oliver Kamm wrote to us:

Gentlemen,

I have read your latest media alert urging your supporters to lobby Browen [sic] Maddox, Chief Foreign Commentator of The Times. You ask Bronwen for a reference for her comment that the authors of the NIE report on Iran’s nuclear programme believe, with hindsight, that “they should have phrased it differently”.

The reference is a statement by Admiral Michael McConnell, director of the National Intelligence Council, before the Senate Intelligence Committee on 5 February this year. Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana asked McConnell: “You just mentioned that if you had to do it over again [i.e. report on Iran's nuclear programme] without the heat of the moment, some time to reflect, you would have changed a couple of things. What would you have changed?”

McConnell replied: “I think I would change the way that we describe [the] nuclear program; I mean, put it up front, a little diagram, what are the component parts so that the reader could quickly grasp that a portion of it, I would argue, maybe even at least significant portion, was halted and there are other parts that continue.”

You’ll find the exchange on page 32 of the transcript, here: http:

//www.dni.gov/testimonies/20080205_transcript.pdf

It seems to me that you would be doing your own supporters a service if you were to try answering your own questions before launching imprecations at senior journalists who exercise unreasonable patience and courtesy in responding to you. Conversely, given that your supporters declare on your message board that the BBC World Service broadcasts “blatant propaganda for the Jewish religion”, I think Bronwen and the other commentators you target might be forgiven if they are unmoved by your complaints.

Sincerely,

Oliver Kamm

To quickly address the last point, it is amazing that anyone would attempt to denigrate a website on the grounds that it hosted a particular comment posted by a member of the public. Presumably, then, media professionals should revile the Guardian editors, associated as they are with the paper’s Comment is Free website, which hosts all manner of outrageous comments. Maddox was a “target”, not of “complaints” or “imprecations”, but of polite invitations to rational discussion of the facts. Kamm is arguing that these should be rejected on the grounds that a post he didn’t like appeared on our message board. Comment is indeed free, but sometimes superfluous.

To read the rest of this media alert, please go to:

http://www.medialens.org/alerts/index.php

Best wishes

The Editors