Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
January 07, 2012

Rescued Iranian Fishermen - How Comes The Times Is Involved?

So a carrier group from the U.S. Navy rescues some Iranian fishermen who were captured by Somali pirates ...

And just by chance the New York Times' very best war reporter, former marine captain C.J Chivers and his photographer side kick Tyler Hicks, are somehow on board of one of the Navy ships. Their story has the fantastic dateline "ABOARD THE FISHING VESSEL AL MULAHI, in the Gulf of Oman". It gives a detailed reportage of what happened including interviews with the Iranian captain and some pirates.

It is well written, as usual by Chivers, but there is something missing in his piece. Why is he where he is?

When was he send to that carrier in the Arabian Sea? That carrier went through the street of Hormuz only three days ago. Chivers being there was just by chance? His reporting with a teaser today and the main fill on tomorrow's NYT weekend edition page 1 is just by chance? He just got lucky?

Sure. Those Iraq WMD stories in the NY Times were also just by chance? They also by chance always came in the weekend edition? Judith Miller was just lucky that she picked them up?

The real questions: How long ago was this propaganda show planed? Who set it up? And how much of it was real?

And what will the Times have to pay back for getting this propaganda coup scoop handed to it by the Navy?

Posted by b on January 7, 2012 at 6:25 UTC | Permalink

Comments

CJ Chivers, ex-Marine, just happened to be on the Kidd and wrote up the story for the NYTimes.
This is the same CJ Chivers who was in Libya with the rebels, and the same CJ Chivers who was at a US firebase in Afghanistan that allegedly was being rocketed by Pakistan, and at another firebase that was under attack and the ANA cowered.

And now CJ Chivers is on the Kidd during its moment of glory, to report and photograph "U.S. Navy Frees Iranians From Pirates." Of course this rescue wasn't set up, or anything -- Chivers just happened to be on this particular ship at this particular time with his photographer Tyler Hicks, and it just happened that the ship's captain is a woman. Just happened. And I've got this bridge . . .

The USS Kidd’s commanding officer is Cmdr. Jennifer Ellinger. I think we're being Kidded.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 7 2012 7:06 utc | 1

Background piece from the FT has graphic showing increased range of "Somali pirates".

Lt Cdr Adamsson insists there are plans to tackle the problem east of Somalia, although he declines to disclose details. However, he concedes that, since the larger mother ships allow Somali pirates to strike up to 1,500 nautical miles from their home bases, the sheer distances involved present a daunting problem.
“It’s almost twice the size of the European mainland,” he said of the area in question. “We cannot be everywhere.”

If they can't seal off Somalia, what makes them think they can seal off Iran from similar actions after an Israeli/US/UK attack on Iran. Using a combination of anti-ship missiles and small surface ships, the Iranians will be able block enough oil and LPG/LNG coming out of the Gulf to persuade the US and UK that they must launch an invasion to secure Iran's coastline on the Persian Gulf and before you know it, they will be occupying Tehran. Anyone who says that the US will win, is an idiot. The response in Iran will be like Iraq on steroids.

Posted by: blowback | Jan 7 2012 14:28 utc | 2

Jessica Lynch. Tillman. Great plot lines, and my oh my, what casting!

Personally, I think its wonderful that the military employs scriptwriters. I mean, well, strategists and logisticians have their place, but their products are far from interesting reading.

Anyone seen a picture of this fair sexed skipper??? Is she photogenic? Sexy in a proffessional military way? Are their any gay sailors on board that can be showcased in a background shot?

Hey, I got an idea!!! Lets make this skipper a celebrity, then sink this tub with an Iranian missile!!! That'll get the masses drooling for blood, by golly!

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 7 2012 16:20 utc | 3

The Iranians had been held captive on the pirate ship for about a month. Plenty of time to set up the rescue/photo op!

Posted by: FB Ali | Jan 7 2012 16:30 utc | 4

This action serves as payback for a previous Iran suggestion that the US isn't needed in these waters.
from MaritimeSecurity.Asia, Aug 3, 2011:
“Based on the doctrine to expand security in international waters, Iran strengthens its naval forces so it can, with the help of regional countries, move towards indigenous regional security,” Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Monday. “The message our …naval forces are sending other countries is that there is no need for the presence of foreign currents to provide security in this region,” Vahidi added.

The US Fifth Fleet, headquartered up in the Persian Gulf (the US calls it the Arabian Gulf) has been singularly unsuccessful in defeating piracy. The Fleet has thirteen task forces, including mine warfare and contingency response, but none specifically for anti-piracy. This, despite the persistent US claims that it needs eleven nuclear carrier groups to 'keep the sealanes open.'
http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/taskforces.html

The Fifth Fleet commander also commands the Combined Maritime Forces. "Coalition and U.S. forces conduct MSO [Maritime Security Operations] to help set the conditions for security in the maritime environment. From security arises stability that results in global economic prosperity."
http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/command/command.html

The US-led Combined Force include, in theory, naval forces from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which probably operate independently. Iran conducts continuous anti-piracy patrols in the region. Iranian naval ships have escorted nearly a thousand Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden and have had 30 major clashes with the pirates over the past two years,
http://maritimesecurity.asia/free-2/piracy-update/iran-aims-to-strengthen-maritime-security-thwart-pirate-attacks/

Spiegel, Dec 30: Piracy off the Somali coast remains a huge problem, despite international efforts to combat the scourge. Now, the EU is considering expanding the scope of its operation to include attacks on onshore infrastructure such as weapons depots. Attacks by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa may have fallen recently, but the barefoot bandits continue to pose a significant threat to international shipping. According to the European Union's anti-piracy naval force, pirates are still holding at least 200 hostages in Somalia or off its coast. Just this week, pirates hijacked an Italian cargo ship with 18 crew on board off the coast of Oman.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,806379,00.html

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 7 2012 16:35 utc | 5

One story is that Somali fishermen initially got into the piracy business because heavy ship traffic through their fishing grounds had ruined their livelihoods.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 7 2012 16:49 utc | 6

#3 - POA, getting the masses drooling for blood, by golly!

With “Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool” as background music.

The Editors perform:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XFDtgONXpo&feature=related

“I don't wanna be ignored, oh God
When I'm a gun in a fistfight
You're chewing with an open mouth, raw meat
your blood drool attracts the flies…

I don't wanna be left out, or get fucked
but there's a talent in your lies
If you're chewing with an open mouth, raw meat
your blood drool attracts the flies…

Don't wait for the sun
Your story's been spun
These boys, they just wanna have fun
But your damage is done.”

Posted by: DakotabornKansan | Jan 7 2012 19:08 utc | 7

the pirates are baccccckkkkk!!!

Posted by: annie | Jan 7 2012 20:12 utc | 8

Palestinian Sesame Street falls victim to US Congress

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/07/palestinian-sesame-street-us-congress

“With its colourful band of Muppets preaching tolerance and neighbourly love, the Palestinian version of the children's television programme Sesame Street had become a beacon of hope for children in a region ravaged by decades of unrest.

But the cast of peace-loving characters have now found themselves in the crossfire of a political dispute between Palestinian leaders and the US Congress, and episodes have been axed for 2012.”

And who said it was a “Do Nothing” Congress?

Posted by: DakotabornKansan | Jan 7 2012 20:21 utc | 9

i don't quite get this idea that the USN is supposed to be taking care of the Somali pirate problem. it's not our nation's responsibility. in fact, i'd put much of the blame square on the merchant ships themselves for choosing to sail under flags of convenience such as Liberia. if you choose to register your ship under an American flag, then sure, justice should be swift and harsh. and it has been. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30178013/ns/world_news-africa/t/captain-freed-after-snipers-kill-somali-pirates/

and so, that is the way it has been. a clear message is broadcast that you attack US-chartered ships at your peril. and things have been relatively quiet afaik wrt attacks on US vessels. but corporations continue to choose registrations that save them more money overall than the losses caused by piracy. if corporations see piracy as just a cost of doing business, then why would the USN get involved now? PR, of course, as you point out. but what these people should realize is that the USN will not be there for them once this current PR campaign has served its purpose.

Posted by: Proton Soup | Jan 7 2012 20:49 utc | 10

@ PS
As I wrote above, the US continually claims that it needs eleven nuclear carrier groups to 'keep the sealanes open.' This has come up in reference to the South China Sea particularly, where (according to Washington) it's the obligation of US taxpayers to ensure safe passage for Singapore and China oil transports. Go figure.

By the way, most of the eleven US nuclear carrier groups are usually in port, often for maintenance. Currently eight of the eleven carriers are laid up. My '74 VW is more reliable than those huge floating targets with 5,000 people on board.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 7 2012 21:02 utc | 11

Ex-Cheney aide Victoria Nuland, wife of Robert Kagan, gets it wrong in her Friday State presser about "the dumbest pirates ever."

On the hostage rescue:
MS. NULAND: Sorry, crew of the Stennis. Rescued from these pirates. And then they returned them – they returned the Iranians to their fishing vessel, and they went on their way. With regard to the pirates, they are still onboard the Stennis.

In regard to Iran:
MS. NULAND: Well, as the regime feels increasing pressure, it is desperate for friends and flailing around in interesting places to find new friends.

news reports:
Bloomberg: Iran and Russia replaced the U.S. dollar with their national currencies in bilateral trade
NZ Herald: China, the biggest buyer of Iran's oil, has publicly rejected US sanctions aimed at Tehran's energy industry
Reuters: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, India's biggest buyer of Iranian crude at about 150,000 barrels per day, has not cut purchases despite U.S. sanctions against Tehran . . .According to sources, India is holding talks with Russia for routing payments to Iran.
Bloomberg: Japan plans to express its concerns about a possible embargo on Iranian crude oil to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner when he visits Tokyo next week

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 7 2012 21:32 utc | 12

I've made two efforts to post on the thread below this one; and both times it says I've posted, but the piece does not show up.

Posted by: Copeland | Jan 7 2012 21:33 utc | 13

I don't why is my longer piece is being blocked; I just tried to post it on this thread. I just copied it whole from where it was on my hard disk, straight to the publishing window, hit post without any editing,--and nothing! And I got the message that said it was posted.

Posted by: Copeland | Jan 7 2012 21:46 utc | 14

Hmmmm, maybe the US Navy has been rescuing hijacked sailors in this manner for months, and it's just that *this* time there was a reporter onboard when it happened?

As in: it's not the presence of that reporter that makes this story "suspicious", so much as it is the presence of that reporter that made this event into "news".

After all, while this may well be Gosh! Darn! exciting for Chivers, it might be an everyday occurence for the crew of the USS Kidd.

Not saying you're wrong.
Not saying you're right.

Just sayin' that you are missing some important background info that might help decide the issue either way i.e. how often does the US Navy intercept pirates in the Gulf?

Posted by: Johnboy | Jan 7 2012 23:00 utc | 15

@Copland

Been bitching about these things for weeks..

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 8 2012 0:19 utc | 16

@ Johnboy -- in this manner?
The NYTimes story was that the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier battle group -- which includes 10 U.S. and Canadian ships -- just happened on some greenhorn pirates that were dumb enough to operate near a carrier battle group. Furthermore CJChivers who heretofore has been studying munitions in Libya and firebases in eastern Afghanistan just happened to be on the one ship in this battle group selected to run the anti-pirate exercise in the Arabian Sea.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 8 2012 0:30 utc | 17

Definitely off the Rescued Iranian Fishermen topic…

Steve Clemons, The Atlantic, “Obama Should Call Rumsfeld to Work on Defense Strategy and Cuts”

“Maybe it's time to invite Donald Rumsfeld to be invited to join the respective advisory boards tasked with thinking through new blueprints for a reformed and rewired military strategy. Controversial, of course -- but also a smart thing to do, even in an election year.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/obama-should-call-rumsfeld-to-work-on-defense-strategy-and-cuts/251028/

Rumsfeld?

Don Bacon’s cogent arguments in favor can be read in the comments section.

Posted by: DakotabornKansan | Jan 8 2012 0:56 utc | 18

"Obama Should Call Rumsfeld to Work on Defense Strategy and Cuts”


Clemons is a jackass for trying to resurrect that piece of shit Rumsfeld.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 8 2012 1:17 utc | 19

@Copeland, b already explained the problem (at least part of it) and the workaround here.

it's frustrating, because the posts you copy and paste (and then lose forever) usually are precisely the ones that took more effort

Posted by: claudio | Jan 8 2012 1:22 utc | 20

high sea stick up

Posted by: denk | Jan 8 2012 1:49 utc | 21

@14 + 20

But surely, if you copy and paste, you still have the comment on your clipboard. No?

...Or paste the comment into some text file as a back-up. By the way, the Opera browser has a notepad built into it - very useful, I find.

Posted by: nobodee | Jan 8 2012 3:56 utc | 22

The comment I posted above was copied and pasted, but I had to change one letter to activate the buttons. The site works for me.

What can happen sometimes is that a javascript function will be running on another open tab or window or even recently closed window, causing problems for posting a comment - there may be an error notice. It's happened to me here and elsewhere. I just restart to fix that.
________________________

On the topic:

ISNA TEHRAN, Dec 26: An Iranian destroyer rescued a Saudi Arabian oil tanker in high seas

The Iranians do this too, not just Captain America.

Posted by: nobodee | Jan 8 2012 4:26 utc | 23

Well, yeah, Don.

You're making that case *as* *if* it were self-evidently true that US Navy anti-piracy activity in the Gulf is a rare thing.

I'm simply pointing out that this is not self-evidently true i.e. the interception of Somali pirates may well be quite commonplace, even routine.

Here, turn it around and look at it from *this* angle:
1) If US Navy action against pirates in the Gulf is commonplace then
2) sooner rather than later a reporter who is onboard a US Navy ship is going to see that ship intercept some pirates.

Because - do'uh - if it's commonplace then it's gonna happen while he's there, even if it looks all New 'n' Exciting to him.

Q: So, who's narrative is the correct one?
A: That rather depends on how commonplace such intercepts are.

Q: How commonplace are they?
A: I don't know, but neither do you.

Posted by: Johnboy | Jan 8 2012 5:11 utc | 24

test

Posted by: anna missed | Jan 8 2012 8:16 utc | 25

Wasn't it Don Rumsfeld's beautiful mind that oversaw (orchestrated) the looting of Baghdad, then quipped "free people will do bad things"? Then discounted the burning of the National Library, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the looting of the Museum of Antiquities saying (something to the effect) "whats the big deal with few people stealing vases". These events - all of which he personally responded to in the press, were arguably some of the worst atrocities of the entire war. He then went on to discount the growing insurgency as nothing more than a "few dead-enders".

"Rumsfeld appeared genuinely annoyed even to have to answer questions about the ransacking of the museum and library: "We didn't allow it to happen. It happened," he said. This ham-fisted diplomacy immediately gave rise to anti-American conspiracy-mongering: Nine British archaeologists suggested that, in turning a blind eye to the looting, the Bush administration was succumbing to pressure from private collectors to allow treasures to be traded on the open market. Others have suggested the administration wanted the world to feel the symbolic weight of the destruction of Saddam's regime."
link:http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2003/04/raiders_of_the_lost_art.html

And somebody wants this fool back?

Posted by: anna missed | Jan 8 2012 8:30 utc | 26

@Copeland 14

Same problem exactly, on same thread. Says it posted, never appears. Tried closing all other windows, restarting browser, as suggested in an earlier thread. It made no difference, same outcome.

What is the word limit? Perhaps splitting the post?

Posted by: smoke | Jan 8 2012 9:49 utc | 27

This is what the news is like today. (Not all of it happily.)

Reality and fiction meld as in myths of old. Reality is manipulated and planned to include staged or at least scripted episodes, or simply presents vignettes and mini happenings to provide gripping stories and vestiges of morality tales. Post hoc descriptions of real events are corrupted by a film mentality, re-casted and brushed up by angles, characterizations, spin.

It has always been thus, the power of story, of re-framing, of image, the need or desire to accept the common view, that put forward by authority, or one’s neighbor, with the attendant call to glorious action in our human-constructed, symbolic world. But reality shows don’t represent life, and life is not a reality show, though ppl increasingly behave as if it was. Reality can be a bitch, when masked, or misrepresented, or too carefully constructed, it erupts unpredictably, the velvet curtains are ripped away or go up in smouldering noxious flames.

Anyway others have written about all this better than I ever could.

We are living today with a crackpot secular religion: Economics, and a major, world defining event which is less grounded than Noah’s Ark: 9/11.

I admire b’s dogged pursuit of and upholding of certain standards in reporting. Thanks.

Sunday is a day for reading..

Orwell diaries 1938-1942

http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

Posted by: Noirette | Jan 8 2012 14:47 utc | 28

This is what the news is like today. (Not all of it happily.)

Reality and fiction meld as in myths of old. Reality is manipulated and planned to include staged or at least scripted episodes, or simply presents vignettes and mini happenings to provide gripping stories and vestiges of morality tales. Post hoc descriptions of real events are corrupted by a film mentality, re-casted and brushed up by angles, characterizations, spin.

It has always been thus, the power of story, of re-framing, of image, the need or desire to accept the common view, that put forward by authority, or one’s neighbor, with the attendant call to glorious action in our human-constructed, symbolic world. But reality shows don’t represent life, and life is not a reality show, though ppl increasingly behave as if it was. Reality can be a bitch, when masked, or misrepresented, or too carefully constructed, it erupts unpredictably, the velvet curtains are ripped away or go up in smouldering noxious flames.

Anyway others have written about all this better than I ever could.

We are living today with a crackpot secular religion: Economics, and a major, world defining event which is less grounded than Noah’s Ark: 9/11.

I admire b’s dogged pursuit of and upholding of certain standards in reporting. Thanks.

Sunday is a day for reading..

Orwell diaries 1938-1942

http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

Posted by: Noirette | Jan 8 2012 14:47 utc | 29

Damn good synopsis of our current state Noirette. Finding the underlying truths now is like looking for a " Needle -in-a-haystack." Sites like this one are few and far between.

Posted by: ben | Jan 8 2012 15:31 utc | 30

John Boy;As any propaganda that shows US in a good light,like this rescue,is trumpeted by the MSM,you can bet that this type of action is not that common,and the MSM will never let any episode go by without such coverage,as steak doesn't heal black eyes.
And our foolish political decision to impede Islam and its adherents wishes to implement an Islamic regime in Somalia,in order to assuage the Zionists fears of the mythical caliphate,are daily on display in the region,and in the future I see the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments beset with self made disasters of following the wacko foreign criminals wishes against their own peoples and the Somalians.
And of course these pirates have no other way of livelihood(other than western whores) in their 40 year apocalypse of intervention.

Posted by: dahoit | Jan 8 2012 15:54 utc | 31

Maybe you're right, dahoit, but I have to point out that this sentence:
"As any propaganda that shows US in a good light,like this rescue,is trumpeted by the MSM,you can bet that this type of action is not that common,and the MSM will never let any episode go by without such coverage,as steak doesn't heal black eyes."
is mighty long on rhetoric and mighty short on verifiable fact.

A reporter was on a US naval vessel in the gulf.
That vessel saved some Iranians from some pirates.
This reporter rushed into print to report it.

None of those facts are in dispute.

But the question remains: was this event "staged" for the benefit of that reporter, or is this a commonplace event that was made special (i.e. became "reportable") only because this time there was a reporter present?

The obvious question to ask is therefore: how common are run-ins between the US Navy and Somali pirates?

I don't know the answer, but I suspect that it will turn out to be: Much More Common Than You Would Suspect.

Posted by: Johnboy | Jan 8 2012 17:36 utc | 32

"But the question remains: was this event "staged" for the benefit of that reporter, or is this a commonplace event that was made special (i.e. became "reportable") only because this time there was a reporter present?"


The over-riding and compelling aspect to ALL these issues that we concern ourselves with is that we are reduced to conjecture because of the duplicitous manipulation of fact that the media engages in. As a result, our engagement and interaction with the "democratic process" is an illusion, tainted by our inability to make informed decisions about what candidates and policies we can willingly support. Our national security, our economic well being, our health, all matters completely and utterly beyond our control due to the skewed and propagandized manner in which our media fails to responsibly fullfill its role as the Fourth Estate.

In truth, these sluts controlling the narrative are even sleazier and more treasonous that the actual criminal in power. There can be no more despicable a calling than that of a media whore, whose task is to advance policy and power through deception. They, one an all, should hang.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 8 2012 17:56 utc | 33

Steve Clemons endorses the return of Don Rumsfeld.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/obama-should-call-rumsfeld-to-work-on-defense-strategy-and-cuts/251028/

Scott Horton | A Nuremberg Lesson… Torture scandal began far above 'rotten apples.'

http://archive.truthout.org/article/scott-horton-a-nuremberg-lesson

“Rumsfeld and the White House would have us believe that there is no connection between policy documents exploring torture and evasion of the Geneva Convention and the misconduct on the ground in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan - misconduct that produced at least 30 deaths in detention associated with "extreme" interrogation techniques. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's explanation for the Abu Ghraib prison tortures: A few "rotten apples" - not U.S. policy or those who created it - are to blame.

“But the Nuremberg tradition contradicts such a contention. At Nuremberg, U.S. prosecutors held German officials accountable for the consequences of their policy decisions without offering proof that these decisions were implemented with the knowledge of the policymakers. The existence of the policies and evidence that the conduct contemplated in them occurred was taken as proof enough.

“Where is justice - and where are the principles the U.S. proudly advanced at Nuremberg - if those in the administration and the military who seem most culpable for the tragedy not only escape punishment but in some cases are slated for promotion?”

The depravities at Auschwitz were not the work of a few "rotten apples," but the responsibility of a nation. Germany’s courageous assumption of responsibility should provide a model for the United States to salvage its tradition and its honor.

Return Donald Rumsfeld?

Posted by: DakotabornKansan | Jan 8 2012 20:57 utc | 34

Gettin' kinda hard to to offer any argument in Clemons' defense. A complete and utter sell-out, he disgusts me.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 9 2012 1:35 utc | 35

The US/MSM story is that Iran is on the ropes, an unloved 'regime' that is a world outcast, flailing around without friends, making empty threats and now the valiant USNavy has rescued some of their sailors and they should be eternally grateful.

This was the attitude recently even by Spencer Ackerman at wired- Danger Room.

"You’re Welcome, Tehran! U.S. Navy Frees Iranians From Pirates -- Just days after Iran threatened the U.S. Navy and bloviated about closing off the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy saved 13 Iranian commercial sailors from pirates. Anytime you want to express your gratitude, Tehran, the Pentagon will take your call."

Actually, as I posted above, Iran has more firnds in the world than the US does. I now I've run across this:
University of Maryland
2011 Annual Arab Public Opinion Survey
October 2011
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and UAE

59% unfavorable view of the U.S.
38% very unfavorable
26% favorable
52% discouraged by U.S. ME plicy
55% said I/P peace agreement woud improve views of U.S.

64% Iran has right to nuclear program
25% should be pressured to stop

71% Israel biggest threat
59% U.S. " "
18% Iran " "

23% prefer China as world superpower
7% U.S. " "

22% admire Recep Erdogan
13% Hassan Nasrallah
13% Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
4% Barack Obama
3% Fidel Castro


http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2011/1121_arab_public_opinion_telhami/1121_arab_public_opinion.pdf

At least Obama beat out Castro with Arabs.


Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 9 2012 1:53 utc | 36

Here's the latest NYTimes scary Iran headline.
Iran Trumpets Nuclear Ability at a Second Location

CAIRO — Iran’s top nuclear official announced this weekend that the country was on the verge of starting production at its second major uranium enrichment site, in a defiant declaration that its nuclear program would continue despite new international sanctions restricting its oil revenue.

So an announcement becomes "trumpets"
Iran building a new plant, underground because of bombing threats, becomes "a defiant declaration"

To the Times' credit, and usually not addressed, further on in the article, after a bunch of scary propaganda AKA strategic communications, comes:

The new facility has been inspected regularly, and unless the Iranians barred inspectors or managed to deceive them, any effort to produce uranium at bomb-grade levels would most likely be detected.

The Iran enrichment program has been under continuous full IAEA surveillance and that agency has continually been in compliance with the NPT, something that Israel with its 200 nukes, most feared by Arabs, has never done.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 9 2012 2:13 utc | 37

Posted by: Proton Soup | Jan 7, 2012 3:49:06 PM | 10

"Pirates" = neo Al CIAduh? Both bogus enemies?

Posted by: likeo2 | Jan 9 2012 16:08 utc | 38

The Taguba Report…More than “a few rotten apples”

Seymour Hersh, “The General’s Report, How Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/06/25/070625fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all

Army Major General Antonio Taguba was given the assignment of investigating what happened at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

He was “summoned to meet, for the first time, with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld and his senior staff were to testify the next day, in televised hearings before the Senate and the House Armed Services Committees, about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. “Here . . . comes . . . that famous General Taguba—of the Taguba report!” Rumsfeld declared, in a mocking voice. In the meeting, the officials professed ignorance about Abu Ghraib…Taguba, describing the moment nearly three years later, said, sadly, “I thought they wanted to know. I assumed they wanted to know. I was ignorant of the setting.”

Taguba said, “Rumsfeld was in denial.” He had submitted more than a dozen copies of his report through several channels at the Pentagon and to the Central Command headquarters, in Tampa, Florida, which ran the war in Iraq. By the time he walked into Rumsfeld’s conference room, he had spent weeks briefing senior military leaders on the report…Taguba also knew that senior officials in Rumsfeld’s office and elsewhere in the Pentagon had been given a graphic account of the pictures from Abu Ghraib, and told of their potential strategic significance, within days of the first complaint.”

“Nevertheless, Rumsfeld, in his appearances before the Senate and the House Armed Services Committees on May 7th, claimed to have had no idea of the extensive abuse. “It breaks our hearts that in fact someone didn’t say, ‘Wait, look, this is terrible. We need to do something,’ ” Rumsfeld told the congressmen. “I wish we had known more, sooner, and been able to tell you more sooner, but we didn’t.”

“Taguba, watching the hearings, was appalled. He believed that Rumsfeld’s testimony was simply not true. “The photographs were available to him—if he wanted to see them. Rumsfeld’s lack of knowledge was hard to credit.” He also recalled thinking, “Rumsfeld is very perceptive and has a mind like a steel trap. There’s no way he’s suffering from C.R.S.—Can’t Remember Shit. He’s trying to acquit himself, and a lot of people are lying to protect themselves.” It distressed Taguba that Rumsfeld was accompanied in his Senate and House appearances by senior military officers who concurred with his denials.

“The whole idea that Rumsfeld projects—‘We’re here to protect the nation from terrorism’—is an oxymoron,” Taguba said. “He and his aides have abused their offices and have no idea of the values and high standards that are expected of them. And they’ve dragged a lot of officers with them…Rumsfeld, his senior aides, and the high-ranking generals and admirals who stood with him as he misrepresented what he knew about Abu Ghraib failed the nation.”

“From the moment a soldier enlists, we inculcate loyalty, duty, honor, integrity, and selfless service,” Taguba said. “And yet when we get to the senior-officer level we forget those values. I know that my peers in the Army will be mad at me for speaking out, but the fact is that we violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles and we violated the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable.”

Taguba was forced to retire from the military in January 2007.

Following World War II, Justice Robert Jackson argued, “If certain acts in violation of treaties are crimes they are crimes whether the United States does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not prepared to lay down a rule of criminal conduct against others which we would not be willing to have invoked against us.” He believed in a single standard to be applied not only to our enemies, but to ourselves as well. He stated at Nuremberg, “We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.” Justice Jackson said of aggressive war, “It is utterly condemned as an instrument of policy.”

We have a long way to go to live up to our ideals, those we imposed upon the Germans at Nuremberg. We will not get there until we impose accountability on our own leaders for failing to uphold our obligations under by international law and our own Constitution.

Posted by: DakotabornKansan | Jan 9 2012 17:24 utc | 39

Fars News Agency, rightfully, called the US rescue operation a Hollywood dramatization of a routine event. "Basically, rescuing trading and fishing boats from the hands of pirates in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden is considered a completely normal issue. A US helicopter filming the rescue operation from the first minute makes it look like a Hollywood drama with specific locations and actors. It shows the Americans tried to publicize it through the media and present the American warship as a savior," Fars said.

America is a Zionist occupied country. Its politician are welling to sell even their mothers for Jewish money.

"It’s a rite of passage, all presidential candidates pass through Israel. Mostly it’s about money,” says Dr. Norman Finkelstein.

http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/israel-got-the-keys-to-white-house/


Posted by: Rehmat | Jan 9 2012 22:43 utc | 40

"Fars News Agency, rightfully, called the US rescue operation a Hollywood dramatization of a routine event"

It is obvious that the US is over-dramatizing that rescue, but it also can not be denied that rescuing sailors in distress is What Navies Do.

That the Americans milked that rescue for all it was worth is lamentable, but saying that
a) they filmed that rescue for their own propaganda purposes
isn't at all the same thing as
b) claiming that the US staged that rescue for their own propaganda purposes.

The former does not necessarily "prove" the latter.


Posted by: Johnboy | Jan 10 2012 5:58 utc | 41

so let's say that the Us navy, just before another routine mission, called in a journalist (more precisely, "the" journalist) to transform it in a propaganda move

Posted by: claudio | Jan 10 2012 17:04 utc | 42

"just before another routine mission, called in a journalist"

You. Don't. Know. That.

I'll point out that b doesn't know that either, because he wrote: "When was he send to that carrier in the Arabian Sea?"

Posted by: Johnboy | Jan 10 2012 22:18 utc | 43

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