Posted on 01/06/2008 4:52:59 AM PST by don-o
“The most difficult aspect of developing a weapons program,” said President Bush, trying to counter the C.I.A.’s N.I.E.-jerk relaxation response to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, “or as some would say, the long pole in the tent, is enriching uranium.”
Who are the “some” who would so say? One of the long pole-vaulters is the national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, who said the day before, “Weapons-grade uranium is the long pole in the tent for a nuclear weapon.”
Their point was that the C.I.A.’s “high confidence” in its intelligence that Iran had stopped its secret weapons development soon after the roof fell in on Saddam Hussein was strictly short-pole stuff:
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It appears that Safire is chastising President Bush for using the construction that Katie Couric made famous, “Some people say that...”. But you will note that President Bush’s substantive statement, that enriching uranium is the biggest part of nuclear weapons development, is not qualified in this way. The President only attributes the “long pole” phrase to the unknown “some”.
A very strange and confusing column. I’d expect better from Safire.
Got me a little nervous opening a thread with a title such as this one... But, I had to see where you were going with it.. LOL! : )
Played it safe...
But, am a little disappointed it’s languishing. I guess the usual wisecrackers are either sleeping in or at church.
Nah, it's just too easy-no challenge at all.
But if I were to comment, I would bring Bill Clinton into the joke somehow.
Last time I checked, straight poles are required for proper tent pitching
Dick Cheney has a new catchphrase
Thursday, December 06, 2007
“Long Pole.” He used it twice in an interview with the Politico:
Al Qaeda in Iraq has been sort of the long pole in the tent, if you will, in terms of the opposition we face ... The long pole in the tent in terms of developing nuclear weapons, traditionally, historically, has been developing fissile material, either highly-enriched uranium or plutonium.
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