Glenn Greenwald's Blog, page 180

The still-missing central fact in the Iran drama

(updated below)

Ever since Iran reported the existence of its Qom enrichment facility to the IAEA, one central assertion has been repeated as fact over and over by the American media to make the story as incriminating as possible:  namely, that Iran only disclosed this because they discovered they had been "caught," i.e., they found out that the West knew of this facility and they thus had no choice but to disclose it.  That assertion has been fundamental to the entire Iran drama...

The suffocatingly narrow Afghanistan "debate"

Washington Post, September 21, 2009:

McChrystal's assessment, in the view of two senior administration officials, is just "one input" in the White House's decision-making process. The president, another senior administration official said, "has embarked on a very, very serious review of all options."

Associated Press, October 5, 2009:

The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama is not considering a strategy for Afghanistan that would withdraw U.S. troops from the...

The joint Post/Obama defense of the Patriot Act and FISA

The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut today produces an extreme piece of government-serving, stenographic "journalism," publishing a dubious administration press release masquerading as a lengthy news article on Obama's approach to Terrorism and civil liberties.  The Post depicts Obama as heavily and heroically engaged in disrupting the alleged Najibullah Zazi domestic terrorist plot and -- repeatedly highlighting that success -- claims "the White House has been charting a delicate course as i...

The sources used by the Liberal Media

(updated below)

Here are some of the sources which David Gregory cited today during Meet the Press:

The question is how much leverage does the U.S. really have? Charles Krauthammer, critical of the approach, saying . . . "This feel-good posturing is worse than useless, because all the time spent achieving gestures is precious time granted Iran to finish its race to acquire the bomb."  Is this a cat and mouse game?
And there on Twitter is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and...

Iran: More accomplished in one day of negotiations than in 8 years of threats

(updated below)

Here are two stories from the last 24 hours which provide an interesting and glaring contrast:

McClatchy, reporting on yesterday's meeting with Iran in Geneva:

Iran also pledged that within weeks it would allow the inspection of a previously covert uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom, and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, announced that he'd head to Tehran to work out the details.

Eli Lake, The...

Salon Radio: Patriot Act and FISA reforms

(updated below - Update II)

When Congress enacted the Patriot Act in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, it provided for a four-year expiration date for some of the more controversial provisions.  In 2005, when it was time for Congress to decide if those should be extended, the Bush administration insisted that none of those powers had been abused yet (like everything) they were critical to fighting Terrorism.  As a result, the Congress thus overwhelmingly voted to extend...

Georgia/Russia: how our political discourse works

Just a timely reminder of the deceitful methods that permeate our political discourse, especially when it comes to demonizing America's Enemy du jour:

British Telegraph, today:

EU blames Georgia for starting war with Russia

An EU investigation into the roots of last August's conflict has reserved its harshest criticism for Georgia's military assault on the breakaway region of South Ossetia and its capital Tskhinvali.
"Open hostilities began with a large-scale Georgian military...

Post editors should read their own columnists

The Washington Post Editorial Page today lashes out at "Roman Polanski's apologists," a group it says is "typified by the comments of Swiss filmmaker Otto Weisser, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, film and TV celebrity Whoopi Goldberg" and includes "a number of Hollywood luminaries -- Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, David Lynch, to name but a few" as well as "European political and cultural authorities."   This hodgepodge of Limbaughian Demons -- Hollywood celebrities and decadent...

How similar are the cases against Iran and Iraq?

(updated below - Update II)

Scott Shane has an article in today's New York Times examining whether the government and media's behavior now with regard to Iran is similar to what happened in 2002 and 2003 concerning Iraq.  I'm quoted in the article in several places, including saying that the "similarities are substantial and disturbing."  I want to focus on one point raised by this topic.

Although I think there are ample similarities, I don't think the situations are identical...

Talking about Iran on the TV

(updated below - Update II - Update III)

Earlier this morning, I was on MSNBC, on Dylan Ratigan's Morning Meeting program, discussing Iran.  Although I didn't know beforehand, the person charged with making the case that Iran is a Grave Threat was . . . Arianna Huffington.  Also on the panel was Washington Post Editorial Page writer Jonathan Capehart.  Here's what ensued:

Just today, a columnist in Capehart's paper, Richard Cohen,