Independent historian and journalist Gareth Porter describes the history of the Bush administration’s various claims about a threat from Iran’s nuclear program, how at times it’s a “secret” or “parallel” program, while at other times their IAEA-Safeguarded low-level enrichment is itself deemed to be the threat, the year-long internal battle over the Iran NIE, the Israeli government and lobby’s position against the conclusions in the NIE, U.S. use of the MEK/NCRI terrorists and their “intelligence” and the hope that the policy of regime change will now have to be dropped.
MP3 here. (17:06)
Dr. Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on U.S. national security policy who has been independent since a brief period of university teaching in the 1980s. Dr. Porter is the author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam (University of California Press, 2005). He has written regularly for Inter Press Service on U.S. policy toward Iraq and Iran since 2005.
Dr. Porter was both a Vietnam specialist and an anti-war activist during the Vietnam War and was Co-Director of Indochina Resource Center in Washington. Dr. Porter taught international studies at City College of New York and American University. He was the first Academic Director for Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Washington Semester program at American University.
After enduring almost 8 years of their BS most people with a bit of common sense have figured out that Bushco is LIEING about most everything that they are doing. Time to forget these losers and move on with our lives. Continually talking and writing about their prevarications will solve nothing and only serve to perpetuate the lies. Quit giving them a forum and they will waste away…
The mirror image of neoconservatism is still neoconservatism, maybe left and right have switched sides.
You'll need not only to know IF they lied, that would indeed be a safe working hypothesis, not only to the Bush administration, but to all administrations everywhere. But you need to know WHAT exactly were the lies. Which means you'll have to know what is the truth of the matter. And then you'll have to know WHY they lied (in this particular way,) which means interpreting the objective by judging it's role and weighing it's importance in ongoing debates/ matters.
On a lot of this we can not get much farther then informed speculation. But we try to shrink the speculation part by enlarging the informed bit to the best of our abilities. This is what makes one a thinking person. And fortunately sometimes these efforts to keep track of the evolving world, involve pleasant activities like listening to interviews of people you can learn from on antiwar radio.
And if you really can make something disappear simply by looking away, please do so before they one day take you to The Hague for not having done it so much sooner.
8ball,
I wish the American populace’s sense and memory was as reasoned as you give it credit. Porter’s covering of the trumped-up Iranian threat is crucial because ‘Bushco’ held this supposed threat as a trump card in its Middle Eastern regional aspirations. Porter’s work further exposes the illegal and perverted machinations of the neocons: whether they be in D.C., Tel Aviv, or now Paris.
(And speaking of Sarkozy. I wonder if Scott or his sources have ever nailed down what sort of plans were being put in place during Nicolas’ summer vacation with Dub Dub. Were we trying to bring France on board for an Iranian attack?)
Keep up the fine work, Scott.
Sorry, read “were” for “was”
Gareth Porter’s first book was a celebration of Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia. He also served as interpreter for Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, currently awaiting trial for war crimes, when the latter came to New york to address the UN. Later Porter testified before the House Of Representatives defending Pol Pot from charges of genocide, saying that these accusations came from “reactionary refugees.” Porter said that Pol Pot “released the creative energies of the Cambodian people.” Rep. Steve Solarz angrily compared Porter to those who deny that the Holocaust ever happened.
In the Eighties, Porter served as an aide to Senator Kerry, one more reason to be glad that he lost the 2004 election. During that period he wrote a letter to the NEW YORK TIMES denying that North Vietnam/Viet Cong committed atrocities in Hue during the Tet Offensive, like he earlier defended Pol Pot from similar charges.
And we’re supposed to believe him?!
I don’t know what Gareth wrote or said 25 and more years ago, but his articles and interviews have been dead on since I started keeping track in 2006. If they have an ideological bias it is simply against the next war. And you are not supposed to believe him. You are supposed to check and see if what he says is right to the best of your own ability – assuming your interest in the same topics…
I did check on Porter’s statements. Seeing as how he deliberately lied about the Cambodian Holocaust, as opposed to making an honest error, which anyone can do, his only ideological bias, it appears, is against the USA. Being ideologically biased against Cambodians is now considered bad form today.
Hmmm? Are you trying to say that most of the American populace are ignorant dimwits who are easily led astray with the bread and circuses that are spoon fed to them by the govt. & corporate media?
Or are you saying that Americans are preoccupied with personal pursuits and have unwittingly allowed their government to fall under the control of a few dedicated zealots with evil intentions and there is little left to do but to write & talk about the consequences thereof?
Sounds like the old rock & hard place scenario to me… As the old saying goes, “talk is cheap”.
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