Finally, there’s some attempt to silence—or at least lower the volume of—the drum-beating for war on Iran.
Robert Dreyfuss reports that many Western diplomats and officials in the Obama administration are publicly warning Israel not to attack Iran and pushing back against key neoconservatives and other right-wing hawks (many of whom championed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq) who have been calling for military strikes against Iran since last fall.
So if you’re worried about war with Iran, relax. If you’re worried about Republican candidates making threats of war, you’re right.
Meanwhile, Scott Shane notes the parallels between the strident pitch concerning the talk of war over Iran’s nuclear program and the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. The key may be the opposition of the U.S. military and intelligence establishment:
At a hearing last week, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, pressed James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence.
“Do you have doubt about the Iranians’ intention when it comes to making a nuclear weapon?” Mr. Graham asked.
“I do,” Mr. Clapper replied.
“You doubt whether or not they’re trying to create a nuclear bomb?” Mr. Graham persisted.
“I think they are keeping themselves in a position to make that decision,” Mr. Clapper replied. “But there are certain things they have not yet done and have not done for some time,” he added, apparently a reference to specific steps to prepare a nuclear device. Haunting such discussions is the memory of the Iraq war. The intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, which was one of the Bush administration’s main rationales for the invasion, proved to be devastatingly wrong. And the news media, including The New York Times, which ultimately apologized to readers for some of its coverage of claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, are again under scrutiny by critics wary of exaggerated threats.
Both the ombudsman of The Washington Post and the public editor of The New York Times in his online blog have scolded their newspapers since December for overstating the current evidence against Iran in particular headlines and stories.
