The President's Lack Of Reality And Truthfulness

Contrary to the fear and war rhetoric of President Bush that Iran is working on a nuclear program to produce nuclear weapons, American intelligence just completed and released their assessment.  It concluded Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen.

Like the President did concerning Iraq, he told the American people he knew for sure that Iran was developing the bomb.  He sent V.P. Cheney out, as usual, to tell America how Iran's nuclear weapons program was a threat to the world.  Mr. Bush continued to govern by fear.

 

At a news conference yesterday morning, the President reminded the reporters that intelligence gathering is not an exact science.  He said that as a self serving statement to justify his rhetoric.  The reporters should have asked the President why he said he knew for sure that Iraq and Iran were working to produce nuclear weapons if he knew intelligence is not an exact science.

 

The intelligence report also said the halt was imposed by Iran primarily in response to international pressure and scrutiny.  The available intelligence also suggested the Iranian leadership is guided "by a cost-benefit approach" and not a headlong rush to develop a bomb.  This is a startling statement.  In the past, countries who wanted to go to war were not motivated by cost.  All one has to do is look how Bush took our country to war and occupation in Iraq over WMD that did not exist.  The cost of the war is not in the Bush budget and America is paying for the war by his deficit spending.  The cost is already at $500 billion.

 

It should also be noted that France, the British, and Germany, who were the original negotiators with Iran concerning its nuclear facilities, never engaged in the type of rhetoric Bush does.  In fact, the U.S. did not join in their negotiations for a period of time.  It was only much later when the U.S. agreed to be a silent partner to the negotiation.

 

History has repeated itself in this report.  Mohamed ElBaradei, director General of the IAEA, the arm of the U.N. responsible for checking Iran's nuclear programs, said a few months ago, "there is no evidence Iran had a nuclear weapons program in operation".  And ironically, five years ago before the U.N. and before the Iraq war started, he reported, after his inspections in Iraq, that there was no evidence that Iraq or Saddam reconstituted its nuclear program.  A short time later Bush told the U.N. inspectors to leave and started the war.  Mr. ElBaradei was right in both instances; Mr. Bush was wrong.  Even our own inspectors who combed Iraq after the war started came to the same conclusion as Mr. ElBaradei.

 

Next month Mr. Bush will be in office seven years and will give his usual "State of the Union" address.  It is time he acknowledges the mistakes he has made that has cost America dearly.  For the time being this new intelligence report has derailed the President's rush to another war, this time Iran, the country he recently associated with WWIII.  Lets also see how this intelligence report will affect the oil market.  Will the speculators be curtailed?  Time will tell.