nuclear-news

U.S. media bias in failing to report full story on Iran’s nukes

it seems, the United States isn’t ready to deal because the Obama Administration is afraid of Congress.
(VIDEO) Robert Naiman: U.S. Media Censors U.S. Support of Iran Fuel Swap

U.S. Media Censors U.S. Support of Iran Fuel Swap, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Naiman, 25 May 2010, “……….But if you get your information from major U.S. media, here’s something that you almost certainly don’t know: Brazil and Turkey say that before they reached the deal, they understood that they had the backing of the Obama Administration for their efforts. The available evidence suggests that Brazil and Turkey had good reason to believe that they had U.S. support, and that the Obama Administration has taken a 180 degree turn in its position in the last few weeks, and is now trying to cover its tracks, with the active collaboration of major U.S. media.

Reuters reports from Brasilia – in an article you won’t find on the web sites of the New York Times or the Washington Post:

Brazil argues Washington and other Western powers had prodded Brazil to try to revive the U.N. fuel swap deal proposed last October.”We were encouraged directly or indirectly … to implement the October proposal without any leeway and that’s what we did,” said Amorim.

In a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva two weeks ago, U.S. president Barack Obama said an Iranian uranium shipment abroad would generate confidence.

“From our point of view, a decision by Iran to send 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium abroad, would generate confidence and reduce regional tensions by cutting Iran’s stockpile,” Obama said, according to excerpts from the letter translated into Portuguese and seen by Reuters.

I haven’t seen any reference to this letter from President Obama to President Lula in the U.S. press – have you? But in Brazil, this letter from Obama to Lula was front-page news on Saturday morning – I saw it on the front-page of O Estado de S. Paulo, above the fold.

Note that the Reuters story, dated May 22, says Obama sent this letter two weeks ago. The deal was announced Monday, May 17. So, about a week before the deal was announced, Obama told Lula that from the U.S. point of view a decision by Iran to send 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium abroad would generate confidence and reduce regional tensions. Note furthermore that Obama’s words – according to Reuters, this is a direct quote from Obama’s letter – actually specify an exact amount of transfer that would “generate confidence”: 1,200 kilograms, exactly what was agreed a week later….
Last year, the Administration concluded that Iran wasn’t ready to negotiate with the U.S. because of Iranian domestic politics. Now, it seems, the United States isn’t ready to deal because the Obama Administration is afraid of Congress.
Robert Naiman: U.S. Media Censors U.S. Support of Iran Fuel Swap

May 26, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear weapons, uranium