Saturday, August 13, 2005
Bush rattles sabres on Israeli television
Islam Online:
If you're going to go to all the trouble to occupy an Arab country in the heart of the Middle East, you might as well exploit that fact to coerce other enemies. I hope that we do not have to attack Iran -- indeed, I think it would be a grave mistake to do so -- but it will help the European negotiating position if the Iranians are at least a little bit worried that we might.
Islam Online's report emphasizes Bush's bellicosity and Iranian resolve. Haaretz also covered Bush's interview and also mentioned his reiteration of the basic point that all options remain open, including force. The rest of the story, however, emphasized Western diplomatic efforts:
Pakistan Dawn also has a report, and I expect that there will be more coverage in the Islamic media as the day goes on. I have seen no reports of the interview in the American press. Bush's statement does not represent a change in U.S. policy, so the dearth of domestic coverage is not surprising. Still, one would think that even the reiteration of a threat against Iran would arouse the interest of the American MSM.
UPDATE: Found the A.P. story. It is interesting that the byline is Jerusalem and not Crawford, though. There is still no sign that American reporters covered the story.
US President George W. Bush threatened in an interview with the Israeli television broadcast Saturday, August 13, he could consider using force to press Iran to give up its nuclear program.
Asked whether the use of force against Tehran was on his agenda, Bush replied: "All options are on the table," Reuters reported.
"The use of force is the last option for any president and you know, we've used force in the recent past to secure our country," he said in a clear reference to the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq in March 2003.
If you're going to go to all the trouble to occupy an Arab country in the heart of the Middle East, you might as well exploit that fact to coerce other enemies. I hope that we do not have to attack Iran -- indeed, I think it would be a grave mistake to do so -- but it will help the European negotiating position if the Iranians are at least a little bit worried that we might.
Islam Online's report emphasizes Bush's bellicosity and Iranian resolve. Haaretz also covered Bush's interview and also mentioned his reiteration of the basic point that all options remain open, including force. The rest of the story, however, emphasized Western diplomatic efforts:
Bush made clear he still hoped for a diplomatic solution, noting that EU powers Britain, Germany and France had taken the lead in dealing with Iran.
Washington last week expressed a willingness to give negotiations on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program more time before getting tougher with the country.
"In all these instances we want diplomacy to work and so we're working feverishly on the diplomatic route and we'll see if we're successful or not," Bush told Channel One television.
Pakistan Dawn also has a report, and I expect that there will be more coverage in the Islamic media as the day goes on. I have seen no reports of the interview in the American press. Bush's statement does not represent a change in U.S. policy, so the dearth of domestic coverage is not surprising. Still, one would think that even the reiteration of a threat against Iran would arouse the interest of the American MSM.
UPDATE: Found the A.P. story. It is interesting that the byline is Jerusalem and not Crawford, though. There is still no sign that American reporters covered the story.
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