Agence France-Presse reports today that Bush Levels Dubious Nuclear Arms Charge against Iran, by claiming that the Iranian authorities had "proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon."
Of course, quite the contrary, the Iranians have repeatedly asserted the opposite, and have repeatedly offered to place limits on their nuclear program to ensure that it cannot be diverted to a weapons program - but never mind that.
Bush's assertion came in a press conference with Hamid Karzai, Bush's man in Afghanistan. There was a minor dust-up when Karzai praised Iran's role in Afghanistan and characterized it as constructive and positive during a CNN interview, contrary to what the Bush administration had been saying. He had also previously characterized Iran as a "close friend." In fact, he's been saying the same thing since at least 2002!
Hey, what do the Afghan presidents know about Afghanistan anyway?
So getting back to the Bush thing: so when the media (for once!) called Bush on his ridiculous claim, the White House tried to spin it thusly:
After keeping their nuclear program secret for a decade, the Iranian government has refused the offers of the international community to provide nuclear energy and continues to flout the inspectors of the IAEA," said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
The problem is that all three assertions in this sentence are lies too. Too bad the media didn't call them it.
For one thing, Iran's enrichment program wasn't "kept a secret for a decade" - Iran had openly announced the discovery of uranium on the radio in the early 1980s, and IAEA inspectors had visited Iran's uranium mines in the early 1990s - according to the IAEA spokesperson Melissa Fleming (hey, what does the IAEA know anyway?) In fact, Iran had tried to start its enrichment program in cooperation with the IAEA until the US pressured the IAEA to drop its assistance to Iran in 1983, despite the fact that according the the NPT, Iran is ENTITLED to have access to civilian nuclear technology, and nuclear-armed states like the US are OBLIGATED to share civilian nuclear technology. After that, Iran approached several other nations - Russia, Argentina, Spain, China etc. - only to have the US interfere and nix the contracts. It was only then that Iran obtained some components for its nuclear program from Pakistan. However, Irans' enrichment program was itself never a secret. And despite what you hear about how Iran "failed to declare" facilities at Natanz and Arak, Iran was not under any obligation to do so anyway.
Next is the lie about how Iran refused "offers of international community" - that's because the offers were characterized by independent experts as an "empty box." Iran was offered the prospect of possibly receiving nuclear fuel for its reactors - or not - if Iran agreed to give up its fuel-making program. Incidentally, it was Russia that was supposed to provide this fuel to Iran - the same Russia that Cheney has accused of engaging in "energy supply blackmail" when they decided to cut off gas to Europe. According to this offer, Iran's nuclear program would forever function at the whim of foreign powers who could decide to cut off nuclear fuel at any time. The fact that the Russians are now starting to drag their feet in completing their contract to build Iran's Bushehr reactor (which the IAEA has said is not a proliferation concern) is further proof that the Iranians are quite right to assert that they cannot simply rely on promises foreign sources of nuclear fuel.
And the third lie - that Iran has "flouted" the IAEA inspectors: in fact Iran had allowed more inspections that it is legally obligated to permit:
"Iran has continued to facilitate access under its Safeguards Agreement as requested by the Agency, and to act as if the Additional Protocol is in force, including by providing in a timely manner the requisite declarations and access to locations."[]
...despite the false charges and accusations in the media from "anonymous diplomats". In fact, the IAEA has been frustrated by the US tips which have turned up bupkiss, and has loudly complained of the US mischaracterization of its findings on Iran.
Well, I suppose it was a good thing that Agence France-Press saw fit to question Bush's assertion instead of simply reporting it, as most of the US media does usually. Thank god for little victories.
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