Posted by D. Cupples | The U.S. refused to release five Iranian officials captured in a raid in January (Washington Post). Jokes aside, how would we perceive another country's kidnapping Condoleezza Rice? Probably as grounds for war.
That said, how might the Iranian government view the Bush Administration's refusal to release the five officials? Is provoking Iran part of a plan? It's not a left-field notion: Sen. Joe Lieberman (technically not part of the Administration) publicly advocated bombing Iran, using rhetoric from the Administration's campaign to invade Iraq.
I hope journalists will be cautious this time around. That's why I'm troubled by the Washington Post's statement:
"Tehran... armed, funded and trained many of the militant groups in Iraq."
That could be grounds for war, but the article didn't say whether "Tehran" meant some people living in Iran's capital or the Iranian government, itself. I emailed the Post's writer and asked how she was using the word "Tehran." She graciously wrote back, but her answer was unclear.
Oddly, another WaPo article said this:
"Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called into question assertions by three senior U.S. military officials in Baghdad on Sunday who said the highest levels of Iranian government were responsible for arming Shiite militants in Iraq with the bombs."
Is that why Pace is getting booted off the Joint Chiefs?
A must-read Seymour Hersh article discusses evidence that the Administration started planning to bomb Iran a while ago. Is that why allegations against Iran have been creeping into news reports?
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