By Peter Spiegel in London
Published: January 17 2005 09:01 | Last updated: January 17 2005 19:55
Posted on 01/17/2005 3:58:31 PM PST by Happy2BMe
Pentagon lashes out at Iran claim
By Peter Spiegel in London
Published: January 17 2005 09:01 | Last updated: January 17 2005 19:55
Pentagon officials on Monday lashed out at a US magazine report which claimed they were preparing for possible strikes on Iran by carrying out secret reconnaissance missions inside the country, saying the article contained "fantastic claims" about programmes that do not exist.
The article, written by veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh for The New Yorker magazine, claims that President George W. Bush plans to drastically expand the war on terrorism, and has already signed executive orders authorising secret commando operations against terrorist targets in as many as ten middle eastern and south Asian nations, including Iran.
The Iranian operation, which the article claims has been underway since last summer, intends to identify as many three dozen Iranian military or nuclear sites for US missile attacks or commando raids.
Lawrence DiRita, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in a statement on Monday that many of the facts upon which the story is based are inaccurate. Neither he nor Dan Bartlett, the White House spokesman, commented directly on the commando operations claim, however.
"Mr Hirsch's sources feed him with rumour, innuendo, and assertions about meetings that never happened, programmes that do not exist, and statements by officials that were never made," the Mr DiRita said.
It is rare for the Pentagon to issue such a long and detailed response to a single news account; Mr DiRita's two-page statement includes four specific refutations of claims made in the piece, including an alleged post-election meeting between Donald Rumsfeld and the joint chiefs of staff in which the defence secretary claimed the 2004 US election was a referendum on aggressive action in the Middle East.
It is also rare that defence officials single out a specific journalist for such vitriol. In one part of his statement, Mr DiRita appears to accuse Mr Hersh of anti-Semitism. Mr Hersh reported that Douglas Feith, the number three civilian at the Pentagon, has worked with Israeli military planners to find targets in Iran, a claim the Pentagon said built on "the soft bigotry of some conspiracy theorists". Mr Feith is Jewish. The Pentagon said not such contacts exist.
Despite the denials, European diplomats, who are currently engaged in negotiations with Iran to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions, were startled by the report, saying that in private discussions US officials have strongly backed the European initiative.
"No one can say if this is correct or incorrect," said one European Union diplomat. "The US administration has never shared any information like this with us. On the contrary, in our last meetings, it has supported EU policy on Iran."
Among the allegations specifically refuted by the Pentagon is a claim that two senior Pentagon officials - one military and one civilian - have been inserted into the chain of command for commando operations. "His assertion is outrageous, and constitutionally specious."
It would be nice if we went back to the pre-jimmy-da-commie-bastard-carter days when treason was a capital offense!
usually no trial required for certain crimes!
I know what you mean . .
Except those incursions into Cambodia seared, seared into my mind.
yep... i agree
I've never seen one, never heard of one, never even heard of somebody hearing of one.... by the way, What does "covert" mean?..
sometimes when things go 'bump' in the night..
.. it is a boogeyman.
I hope this is the last thing the Islamo-thugs sees ..... sleep well ....
Possibly they leaked the story on purpose, but I can't imagine they'd give this slimeball the scoop. More likely, he's either made it up, or committed treason.
Thanks. :^)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1321977/posts
"Journalism" versus the National Interest
davidlimbaugh.com ^ | 1/16/05 | david limbaugh
Posted on 01/16/2005 1:41:09 PM CST by lancer256
In the interview Hersh said that he believed President Bush has given Donald Rumsfeld and his neoconservative cabal at the Pentagon the authority to go ahead with this planning, basically cutting the CIA out of the process. Hersh reports, incredulously, that the Pentagon views war against terrorism as a global phenomenon with Iraq being just one campaign. Duh!.
That defense just turned the "Mighty Colts" into the "My Little Ponies"....
If Iran is so upset about us running missions in their country then they should quit whining and do something about it.
Scroll down to
http://belmontclub.blogspot.com/
Backward, Please
Stratfor reacts to Seymour Hersh's article in the New Yorker outlining the covert war that is being waged against terrorism. (Hat tip: MIG)
snip
"By his own admission, Mr. Hersh evidently is working on an “alternative history” novel. He is well along in that work, given the high quality of “alternative present” that he has developed in several recent articles."
bump
That's a cool pic. Tnx.
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