Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Iran not conclusively linked to Iraq's problems; Bush to blame
Here’s the headline: Top U.S. Military Official: No Evidence of Iran Involvement in Iraq
Why is this story so important? Because
“On Monday, President Bush suggested Iran was involved in making roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, that are being used in Iraq. And Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last week accused Iran of sending members of its Revolutionary Guard to conduct operations in Iraq.
That’s right, this gives the Washington Post a chance to highlight another Bush gaffe or a Bush attempt to mislead or,….just take your pick.
“Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joints (sic) Chiefs of Staff, said today he has no evidence the Iranian government has been sending military equipment and personnel into neighboring Iraq.
“Today, Pace, …, was asked at a Pentagon news conference if he has proof that Iran's government is sponsoring these activities.
““I do not, sir,” Pace said.”
That was General Pace’s entire contribution to answering that question He didn’t say he had no “evidence”; he answered that he had no “proof”. And they are not the same thing! Secretary Rumsfeld (who then went on for some time answering that question) made that point immediately clear:
“Rumsfeld, standing beside Pace, said today it is difficult to ascertain whether the Iranian government is directly involved in sending military equipment and personnel to Iraq.
"As to equipment, unless you physically see it coming in in a government-sponsored vehicle, or with government-sponsored troops, you can't know it" comes from Iran's government, Rumsfeld said.
"All you know is that you find equipment -- weapons, explosives, whatever -- in a country that came from the neighboring country.
"With respect to people, it's very difficult to tie a thread precisely to the government of Iran. As we all know, there are pilgrimages where Shi'a come from Iran and around the world to go to holy places in Iraq, and they come by the thousands, sometimes tens of thousands. And so, that is also a difficult" to prove.”
That’s what you read in the Post. Now this is the part they left out from Secretary Rumsfeld’s answer:
“Now if, on the other hand, you have evidence, intelligence or physical evidence, that Revolutionary Guard or Qods Force people are in Iraq, you again can't -- it's entirely possible they're rogue elements, and they're just there on their own, or they're pilgrims. Not likely. And in this case, there has been evidence that Qods Force/Revolutionary Guard people have been and/or are in Iraq. And I think that it's -- a reasonable man test would suggest that they're not freelancing and they're not pilgrims.” 3/14/06: DoD News Briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Pace
So the only logical headline could be: Top U.S. Military Official: No Evidence of Iran Involvement in Iraq
Why is this story so important? Because
“On Monday, President Bush suggested Iran was involved in making roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, that are being used in Iraq. And Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last week accused Iran of sending members of its Revolutionary Guard to conduct operations in Iraq.
That’s right, this gives the Washington Post a chance to highlight another Bush gaffe or a Bush attempt to mislead or,….just take your pick.
“Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joints (sic) Chiefs of Staff, said today he has no evidence the Iranian government has been sending military equipment and personnel into neighboring Iraq.
“Today, Pace, …, was asked at a Pentagon news conference if he has proof that Iran's government is sponsoring these activities.
““I do not, sir,” Pace said.”
That was General Pace’s entire contribution to answering that question He didn’t say he had no “evidence”; he answered that he had no “proof”. And they are not the same thing! Secretary Rumsfeld (who then went on for some time answering that question) made that point immediately clear:
“Rumsfeld, standing beside Pace, said today it is difficult to ascertain whether the Iranian government is directly involved in sending military equipment and personnel to Iraq.
"As to equipment, unless you physically see it coming in in a government-sponsored vehicle, or with government-sponsored troops, you can't know it" comes from Iran's government, Rumsfeld said.
"All you know is that you find equipment -- weapons, explosives, whatever -- in a country that came from the neighboring country.
"With respect to people, it's very difficult to tie a thread precisely to the government of Iran. As we all know, there are pilgrimages where Shi'a come from Iran and around the world to go to holy places in Iraq, and they come by the thousands, sometimes tens of thousands. And so, that is also a difficult" to prove.”
That’s what you read in the Post. Now this is the part they left out from Secretary Rumsfeld’s answer:
“Now if, on the other hand, you have evidence, intelligence or physical evidence, that Revolutionary Guard or Qods Force people are in Iraq, you again can't -- it's entirely possible they're rogue elements, and they're just there on their own, or they're pilgrims. Not likely. And in this case, there has been evidence that Qods Force/Revolutionary Guard people have been and/or are in Iraq. And I think that it's -- a reasonable man test would suggest that they're not freelancing and they're not pilgrims.” 3/14/06: DoD News Briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Pace
So the only logical headline could be: Top U.S. Military Official: No Evidence of Iran Involvement in Iraq
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Half the lawyers in Washington and about nine-tenths of the politicians think that if they have evidence of something, they have "proof," but your point is well taken.
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