McCain and, Unfortunately, Obama Mislead About Iran's Nuclear Program
Yesterday, I wrote a posting entitiled, "AIPAC Policy Conference Attendees Should Consider the Source." Included was this: "AIPAC is the powerful Israeli lobbying group that equates disagreement with the right wing, scandal ridden Ehud Olmert and his government or any disapproval of Israel policies with anti-Semitism.
"Real friends tell each other when they are wrong. The Bush administration has been damaging to the US and the Olmert government has been damaging to Israel and both have been disastrous for each other."
And quoting Asia Times:: "Meanwhile, the power of the lobby seems unassailable. In March 2007, the US Congress was trying to attach a provision to a Pentagon spending bill that would have required President George W Bush to get congressional approval before attacking Iran. AIPAC was strongly against it - because it viewed the legislation as taking the military option "off the table". The provision was killed. Congressman Dennis Kucinich said this was due to AIPAC."
Of course, McBush, supporting Dubya's failed foreign policies, has been completely wrong so often it's his hallmark, so you expect him to cheerlead against Iran.
But it is disappointing that Barack Obama would play to that audience and misrepresent Iran's nuclear program.
Jonathan Landay at McClatchy reports: "The presumptive Republican nominee for president and the leading contender for the Democratic nomination are exaggerating what's known about Iran's nuclear program as they duel over how best to deal with Tehran.
"Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., say that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
"The U.S. intelligence community, however, thinks that Iran halted an effort to build a nuclear warhead in mid-2003, and the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, which is investigating the program, has found no evidence to date of an active Iranian nuclear-weapons project.
"The candidates' comments raise questions about how carefully the two have studied the public record on what's become a major campaign issue and is one of the most difficult foreign-policy challenges likely to confront the next president.
"The issue is also significant because the Bush administration inflated assessments of the Iraqi nuclear threat and the possibility that former dictator Saddam Hussein could pass nuclear weapons to terrorists as it sought to whip up public support for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
" 'Iran is stronger now than when George Bush took office,' Obama said. 'And the fact that we have not talked to them means that they have been developing nuclear weapons.'
"Neither campaign immediately responded to requests for comment on its candidate's assertions.
"The 16 agency-strong U.S. intelligence community said last November in an unclassified National Intelligence Estimate that it concluded with "high confidence" that Iran had halted an effort to develop a nuclear weapon in fall 2003.
"A senior U.S. intelligence official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said that U.S. intelligence agencies stuck by the NIE's judgment of "moderate confidence" that Iran hadn't reactivated the alleged effort."
Obama should be commended for pointing out that the Bush administration's refusal to talk to Iran (although there has quietly been at least four rounds of dialogue) is not constructive, but, to repeat Bush's failed foreign policy mantra regarding Iran developing nuclear weapons is deliberately misleading.
This kind of exaggeration is not helpful, so whoever advised Obama to include it in his speech to right wing AIPAC should stop, or Obama should quit taking this flawed advice because it calls into question how much he understands this issue or studied the public record.
While McHypocrite is consistently clueless and wrong about factual foreign policy issues such as Iran and shoots from the hip without evidence, Obama should know better.
"Real friends tell each other when they are wrong. The Bush administration has been damaging to the US and the Olmert government has been damaging to Israel and both have been disastrous for each other."
And quoting Asia Times:: "Meanwhile, the power of the lobby seems unassailable. In March 2007, the US Congress was trying to attach a provision to a Pentagon spending bill that would have required President George W Bush to get congressional approval before attacking Iran. AIPAC was strongly against it - because it viewed the legislation as taking the military option "off the table". The provision was killed. Congressman Dennis Kucinich said this was due to AIPAC."
Of course, McBush, supporting Dubya's failed foreign policies, has been completely wrong so often it's his hallmark, so you expect him to cheerlead against Iran.
But it is disappointing that Barack Obama would play to that audience and misrepresent Iran's nuclear program.
Jonathan Landay at McClatchy reports: "The presumptive Republican nominee for president and the leading contender for the Democratic nomination are exaggerating what's known about Iran's nuclear program as they duel over how best to deal with Tehran.
"Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., say that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
"The U.S. intelligence community, however, thinks that Iran halted an effort to build a nuclear warhead in mid-2003, and the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, which is investigating the program, has found no evidence to date of an active Iranian nuclear-weapons project.
"The candidates' comments raise questions about how carefully the two have studied the public record on what's become a major campaign issue and is one of the most difficult foreign-policy challenges likely to confront the next president.
"The issue is also significant because the Bush administration inflated assessments of the Iraqi nuclear threat and the possibility that former dictator Saddam Hussein could pass nuclear weapons to terrorists as it sought to whip up public support for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
" 'Iran is stronger now than when George Bush took office,' Obama said. 'And the fact that we have not talked to them means that they have been developing nuclear weapons.'
"Neither campaign immediately responded to requests for comment on its candidate's assertions.
"The 16 agency-strong U.S. intelligence community said last November in an unclassified National Intelligence Estimate that it concluded with "high confidence" that Iran had halted an effort to develop a nuclear weapon in fall 2003.
"A senior U.S. intelligence official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said that U.S. intelligence agencies stuck by the NIE's judgment of "moderate confidence" that Iran hadn't reactivated the alleged effort."
Obama should be commended for pointing out that the Bush administration's refusal to talk to Iran (although there has quietly been at least four rounds of dialogue) is not constructive, but, to repeat Bush's failed foreign policy mantra regarding Iran developing nuclear weapons is deliberately misleading.
This kind of exaggeration is not helpful, so whoever advised Obama to include it in his speech to right wing AIPAC should stop, or Obama should quit taking this flawed advice because it calls into question how much he understands this issue or studied the public record.
While McHypocrite is consistently clueless and wrong about factual foreign policy issues such as Iran and shoots from the hip without evidence, Obama should know better.
Posted by Kaz at 6/3/2008 10:51 AM 
Categories: Iran, Obama, Global Engagement, Foreign Policy, McCain
Categories: Iran, Obama, Global Engagement, Foreign Policy, McCain
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