International Herald Tribune Editorial - A convenient truth
International Herald Tribune Editorial - A convenient truth
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: March 2, 2007
We would like to believe that the Bush administration has finally figured out how dangerous and counterproductive it is to hype intelligence — and that that's why officials are admitting they're not sure North Korea ever got very far with a secret uranium-based nuclear program. But we doubt it.
It was just last month that intelligence officials, with their bosses' clear blessings, were insisting that Iran's leaders had personally ordered the smuggling of especially lethal roadside bombs into Iraq. At least they did until the Pentagon's top general admitted that no one knew who in Iran was really calling those shots, and President George W. Bush announced that it didn't matter anyway.
So we suspect that this week's confessions of doubt about North Korea had less to do with a sudden burst of candor than the fact that Pyongyang has agreed to readmit nuclear inspectors — who probably won't be able to find the active uranium enrichment program the administration has been alleging for more than four years. Add to that the White House's eagerness for a diplomatic win in these bleak times, and you understand why the White House might find this truth so convenient.
Late may be better than never, but it isn't nearly enough to make up for the damage caused. And we haven't even raised the issue of Iraq and its long-gone weapons.
Let's be clear. The North Koreans had and have an illicit nuclear arms program. They tested a device from their plutonium-based program last October. And Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, has admitted that North Korea bought some 20 centrifuges — useful only for enriching uranium — from Abdul Qadeer Khan's nuclear black market.
The problem is that the Bush administration eagerly spun those 20 centrifuges into an industrial-scale enrichment program, and then used it as an excuse to scuttle a Clinton- era deal to close down the North's plutonium-based weapons program.
While we are pleased that the administration has finally managed to negotiate an agreement to start shutting down the North's nuclear complex, there is no guarantee that Pyongyang will ever give up its weapons.
If that's not bad enough, consider some frightening truths. There is no doubt that Iran is moving ever closer to mastering the skills it will need to produce the fuel for a nuclear weapon — and blithely defying the Security Council's demand that it stop. But even America's closest European allies have little stomach for a showdown with Tehran, while Russia and China have strong economic incentives to look the other way. Which means that Washington is the only one left out there to warn the world about the dangers of a nuclear-capable Iran.
Make no mistake: There are real and present dangers out there. But who still believes warnings from this White House?
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: March 2, 2007
We would like to believe that the Bush administration has finally figured out how dangerous and counterproductive it is to hype intelligence — and that that's why officials are admitting they're not sure North Korea ever got very far with a secret uranium-based nuclear program. But we doubt it.
It was just last month that intelligence officials, with their bosses' clear blessings, were insisting that Iran's leaders had personally ordered the smuggling of especially lethal roadside bombs into Iraq. At least they did until the Pentagon's top general admitted that no one knew who in Iran was really calling those shots, and President George W. Bush announced that it didn't matter anyway.
So we suspect that this week's confessions of doubt about North Korea had less to do with a sudden burst of candor than the fact that Pyongyang has agreed to readmit nuclear inspectors — who probably won't be able to find the active uranium enrichment program the administration has been alleging for more than four years. Add to that the White House's eagerness for a diplomatic win in these bleak times, and you understand why the White House might find this truth so convenient.
Late may be better than never, but it isn't nearly enough to make up for the damage caused. And we haven't even raised the issue of Iraq and its long-gone weapons.
Let's be clear. The North Koreans had and have an illicit nuclear arms program. They tested a device from their plutonium-based program last October. And Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, has admitted that North Korea bought some 20 centrifuges — useful only for enriching uranium — from Abdul Qadeer Khan's nuclear black market.
The problem is that the Bush administration eagerly spun those 20 centrifuges into an industrial-scale enrichment program, and then used it as an excuse to scuttle a Clinton- era deal to close down the North's plutonium-based weapons program.
While we are pleased that the administration has finally managed to negotiate an agreement to start shutting down the North's nuclear complex, there is no guarantee that Pyongyang will ever give up its weapons.
If that's not bad enough, consider some frightening truths. There is no doubt that Iran is moving ever closer to mastering the skills it will need to produce the fuel for a nuclear weapon — and blithely defying the Security Council's demand that it stop. But even America's closest European allies have little stomach for a showdown with Tehran, while Russia and China have strong economic incentives to look the other way. Which means that Washington is the only one left out there to warn the world about the dangers of a nuclear-capable Iran.
Make no mistake: There are real and present dangers out there. But who still believes warnings from this White House?
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 10:10 PM
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