Reports on Tuesday's broadcast network evening newscasts all highlighted concerns the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded Iran stopped working on its nuclear weapons program in 2003, will reduce international pressure on Iran. But just a couple of minutes after CBS's Jim Axelrod asserted that “maintaining an international coalition to confront Iran will no doubt be trickier now,” CBS's Elizabeth Palmer contended from London that pressure to impose sanctions, “led by the European leaders,” remains “huge” since “they've always said, 'look, the point is to stop Iran enriching uranium that could be one of the ingredients for a bomb.' And they believe that sanctions could be very effective in finally curbing that program which remains very active as we speak.”
Like Axelrod, NBC's David Gregory noted that “the President is making the case that the international community cannot let up on Iran,” but “the question is whether a skeptical public and skeptical international community will listen?” ABC's Martha Raddatz related how the White House is “concerned” and “I've been in touch with some diplomats. The ones who have to go overseas and say please join us with these sanctions. There is definite concern...”
The conclusion of Jim Axelrod's story, from the White House, on the December 4 CBS Evening News:
AXELROD: Maintaining an international coalition to confront Iran will no doubt be trickier now. China's ambassador to the United Nations said today, quote: “Things have changed” because of this latest NIE.
JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The momentum is going to move away from the world coming together because that sense of urgency that had dominated this issue has just gone away.
AXELROD: Even the Secretary of State under the first President Bush, Lawrence Eagleburger, says this report makes the President's job of rallying allies much tougher. Eagleburger told me, quote: “It complicates it is hell out of it.”
Next, anchor Katie Couric went to Elizabeth Palmer in London for a report on Palmer's recent trip to Iran where she found the current sanctions are hurting that nation's economy. Couric then asked Palmer about whether there is “still a lot of international pressure to impose more sanctions” and Palmer offered an assessment which differed from the assumptions relayed by CBS's Axelrod minutes earlier, as well as the stories on ABC and NBC:
COURIC: Now that these U.S. intelligence agencies have said that the Iranians stopped working on developing nuclear weapons four years ago, is there still a lot of international pressure to impose more sanctions?PALMER: Huge, being led by the European leaders. They've always said, “look, the point is to stop Iran enriching uranium that could be one of the ingredients for a bomb.” And they believe that sanctions could be very effective in finally curbing that program which remains very active as we speak.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center





















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Crying Wolf
Tue, 12/04/2007 - 21:56 ET by Lame CherryOh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive little Johnny in crying wolf...........
Nope it wasn't George who cried wolf, not Dick nor Paul........Saddam had the WMD's and Russia in 3 ways helped them flush them which I detailed here.
Now of course the MSM who are lap dogs of Rockefeller and Rothschild and protected Bill Clinton in his little bribery with Saddam..........and of course the press never researched Saddam's bribes to all their bosses which Marc Rich funnelled.
So now we enter into Iran. Nobody wants to believe in public what Bush is saying, especially since the Europeans and the MSM all know Russia dumped Saddam's WMD's in various nefarious locations to poison the planet, empower Syria and terrorists and give Putin one more nuke to threaten the world with.........
But the public upon being lied to just doesn't believe pesky old Iran is a booger man............because that little report came out that Iran stopped Uranium production..........oh but they didn't say why they stopped WAS BECAUSE GEORGE BOMBED THE BAJESUS OUT OF SADDAM AND TOOK OVER IRAQ.
Gee about the same time ole Khadaffi.........yeah the PC boys called Muie Ghadaffi now but I prefer the K...........gave up his Uranium.
So there we have it CBS, you lied, now the people don't know what to believe besides wacko Ron Paul, wacko Jeff Rense, wacko Steve Quayle, wacko Democrats, wacko Alex Jones and wacko George Soros.............so the Persian Islamocommunists continue on their unholy way making bombs.........yes children they are making the bomb in addition to the several they bought from the Soviet Union.
This is why France threatened under Chirac to nuke Iran out of the blue.........and why all those Europeans are scared a Shahab 3 tipped with atomic weapons will soon fall upon their little socialist enclaves.
The Europeans testicles and ovaries are in the fire. They sold all these goodies, looked the other way when Mother Putin was selling bombs and looked the other way when Kim and the Chicoms helped perfect the Ahmadinejad bomb squad.
Iran has nukes. The problem is how does the world destroy the Iranian leadership, terrorists, bombs and military parts and leave the Persians a government to chug along with so the whole world doesn't spiral into a tit for tat nuclear war.
China will implode without Iranian oil.
Games on you lying liberals.........you made the mess covering up the lies........now you got nukes in Iranian terrorists and New York is the target.
Check mate
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
First instinct is to surrender...
Tue, 12/04/2007 - 22:19 ET by ThisnThat... Second MSM instinct is to believe anyone else other than the President. To wit: "China's ambassador to the United Nations said today, quote: 'Things have changed' because of this latest NIE."
Who the He&& cares what the Chineese ambassador to the UN says about anything? What did our President say, and why doesn't the MSM stand behind him rather than trying to back a UN ambassador?
What a bunch of losers -- surrender monkeys all.
And Biden -- God, he makes me puke.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
With the media, first analyses are always wrong
Wed, 12/05/2007 - 03:39 ET by KC MulvilleThe media is simply latching onto the easiest story line, but it’s the shallowest of story lines. The media either doesn’t understand or agree with the demand for nations to be transparent about their weapons. They’re hailing the NIE report as proof that Bush was wrong, but that’s an embarrassingly shortsighted and partisan charge. Instead, the NIE proves the value of transparency, and the need to stand behind it as a demand.
Under the surrender agreement to the first Gulf War, Iraq had an obligation to prove that they were not developing weapons. Iraq had an obligation to be transparent. As we know, Iraq preferred to play games instead of comply. Saddam was too proud to accept transparency. Saddam was a very rich man, had a history of sponsoring terrorism, and had been blowing off the demands for many years. Other states in the region had the same profile, but Saddam was the biggest and the richest.
Then 9/11 happened. Another rich sponsor of terrorism (Osama bin Laden) had used his wealth to attack the United States. The US went after bin Laden, but it also became clear that Saddam was a bin Laden waiting to happen. More than ever, it was crucial that either Saddam accept transparency, or the US would feel compelled to attack. Saddam refused transparency, so he was invaded and overthrown.
We now know how other states responded. Libya surrendered their development outright. Iran appears to have suspended it. To be blunt, the invasion of Iraq showed them that we were serious, and they took us seriously.
By any historical standard, that was an effective policy, and the net result was fewer nuclear weapons and fewer WMDs. The strategy of the Iraq invasion turned out to be correct. Unfortunately, the errors and mistakes in the execution of the strategy are another matter. The strategy itself was correct.
The American policy is simple. You must be transparent about your weapons. If not, we'll assume you’re developing them. If you refuse to comply with inspections, we must assume you’re hiding something. After 9/11, we're not going to look the other way. If you hide anything, we’re going to keep up the pressure until you either accept transparency, or face the consequences.
That’s an effective strategy. We need to keep it.
Right, KC
Wed, 12/05/2007 - 06:39 ET by ThisnThatWhy has Iran restricted access to its nuclear shennigans? It doesn't make sense to me at all. We have less, not more, insight into what's going on there, so how reliable can our intelligence be? Especially to come out and say Iran has suspended all work on nuclear weapons.
Something's not adding up, and the static from the Dims is simply going to prevent rational discussion of this very vital issue. Shame on Biden and company -- they are so quick to want to surrender and bash Bush that they increase the danger to us every day.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
The benefit of the doubt
Wed, 12/05/2007 - 10:00 ET by KC MulvilleIf you know that our policy is not to give the benefit of the doubt, then obstructing inspectors is an invitation to conflict. As the old saying goes, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Maybe in the pre-9/11 period, we were willing to wait for a smoking gun, but 9/11 changed all that.
Another thing ... if Iran had already suspended the weapons program, but allowed Ahmadinejad to blow raspberries at international inspectors, what does that show? Most likely, it shows that Iran is willing to play Chicken. They want to play games.
Between the healthcare ("cha-ching!") and the foreign policy giveaway, we'll be completely broke. It won't happen on her watch, but by the time her term is done, it'll be inevitable.
They've never given any
Wed, 12/05/2007 - 03:50 ET by lnthompThey've never given any legitimacy to previous NIEs, they only like this one because it gives them another way to try to undermine G.W.B. Just like they never lifted a finger to protect the secrecy, and in fact tried to expose the secrecy, of anything at the CIA until they thought someone within the administration might have exposed the secrecy of Valerie Plame's position.
Lee T.
U.S. Navy (ret.) / Vancouver, Washington
The history of the race, and each individual's experience, are thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.-- Mark Twain
"They’re hailing the NIE
Wed, 12/05/2007 - 08:14 ET by ckc1227"They’re hailing the NIE report as proof that Bush was wrong, but that’s an embarrassingly shortsighted and partisan charge."
And ironic as well, considering his policy towards Iran was formed by earlier NIEs that said Iran was indeed pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Seems the standards these days is if you don't know what intelligence reports from 2 years into the future will say, you're either wrong or, if you're Bush, a liar.
Anyway, Merry Christmas, Iran, for you have just been given a gift, as you will now be able to develop a nuclear program with little or no oversight from the world community.