Posted by D. Cupples | The correction of the Bush Administration's erroneous claims about Iran's posing an imminent nuclear threat seems to have drifted out of the minds of some journalists covering the quasi-confrontation between Iranian and U.S. ships. MSNBC reports:
"Military officials told NBC News that two U.S. Navy destroyers and one frigate were heading into the Persian Gulf through the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz when five armed "fast boats" of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approached a high speed, darting in and out of the formation...." (MSNBC)
"The Navy warships went into defensive mode, radioed the usual warnings to steer clear, and in the end no shots were fired...."
U.S. officials view the event as a "significant, provocative act." The Iranian Foreign Minister responded:
“That is something normal that takes place every now and then for each party, and it (the problem) is settled after identification of the two parties.” (MSNBC)
The news article has an odd paragraph, more interesting for what it doesn't say:
"Historical tensions between the two nations have increased in recent years over Washington's charge that Tehran has been developing nuclear weapons and supplying and training Iraqi insurgents using roadside bombs — the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq." (MSNBC)
Just last month, as the media widely covered (though just for a few days), a new National Intelligence Estimate indicating that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003. (CNN) Though President Bush reportedly was briefed on the NIE in August, Administration officials continued suggesting that Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat through October.
A few sentences is all it would have taken for the article's writers to explain that very salient fact, yet the article does not do so. Given the magnitude of the Administration's errors about Iran's nuclear program, it is odd that the NIE story seems to have dropped off the media's screen altogether.
Memeorandum has other bloggers' commentary.
Other BN-Politics Posts:
* Iran: is the Administration Telling the Truth or Saving Face?
* Afghanistan: the Next Focus of our Fears?
* Under the Rug: What happened to the 190,000 Missing Weapons?
* Violence Down in Iraq, despite Attacks & Human Rights Violations?
* Iraq: Conflicting Stories from the Front & at Home
* Defense Secretary Says Military Can't Protect U.S. Interests Worldwide
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