@@ Military strike talk just 'Psychological Warfare' (PSYWAR/PSYOPS) @@
- From: "Arash" <A7000@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 04:52:31 -0400
Raw Story
April 8, 2006
NY Times: Four officials deny report U.S. considers nuking Iran
An article set for Sunday's edition of the New York Times calls into question a
magazine article which claims that the U.S. is considering a nuclear attack against
Iran, Raw Story has found.
"One of the military?s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the
Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon,
such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites", wrote Seymour Hersh for New
Yorker magazine.
Along with relying on claims from unnamed officials to refute the article, the New
York Times adds that some critics see Seymour Hersh as "too eager to report
assertions critical of the government that are difficult to fully substantiate".
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/NY_Times_Four_officials_deny_report_0408.html
New York Times
April 9, 2006
U.S. Stepping Up Plans to Attack Iran, New Yorker Article Says
By Eric Schmitt
Washington ? The Bush administration, which publicly advocates negotiations to halt
Iran's nuclear program, is accelerating military planning for possible attacks
against Iran, and has not ruled out using tactical nuclear weapons, according to a
new article.
The article, by Seymour M. Hersh in The New Yorker magazine, asserts that the
Pentagon this winter presented the White House with an option to use bunker-buster
nuclear bombs against Iran's underground nuclear sites. When the Joint Chiefs of
Staff (JCS) later sought to drop that option, unidentified officials at the White
House resisted, the article stated.
The article cites numerous anonymous sources, including former Pentagon and
intelligence officials, as well as sources described as having ties to the Pentagon
but no direct involvement in its decision-making.
Asked about the article, Frederick Jones, a National Security Council (NSC)
spokesman, said Saturday: "We're not going to discuss military planning. As the
president has said repeatedly, we along with the international community are pursuing
a diplomatic solution to the issues surrounding Iran's nuclear program".
But four Pentagon, military and administration officials who participate in
high-level deliberations on Iran and who were granted anonymity to speak candidly
rejected the article's contention that the Bush administration was considering
nuclear weapons in a possible strike against Iran.
"I've never heard the issue of nukes taken off or put on the table", a senior
Pentagon official said.
The article also states that American combat troops have been ordered to infiltrate
Iran to collect target data and to cultivate relationships with indigenous groups who
oppose the government in Tehran.
"The article contains information that is inaccurate", said Michele Ness, a
spokeswoman for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). She declined to elaborate.
The article asserts that American carrier-based attack planes have been flying
simulated nuclear-bomb runs within range of Iranian coastal radars. A Pentagon
official said he was unaware of any such flights, but added that within the last
three weeks Iran had ratcheted up its air defenses so high that it accidentally shot
one of its own aircraft.
Senior administration officials, while emphasizing that their preferred path is
diplomatic, have not ruled out military attacks if negotiations should fail. Senior
officers and Pentagon officials said war planners, in particular Air Force targeting
teams, have updated contingencies for dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions, as they
periodically do. But they emphasized that this did not reflect any guidance from the
civilian leadership to prepare for military confrontation.
"There have been no operational plans or options presented to the White House", said
the senior Pentagon official.
Top commanders say the military options range from bad to unimaginable. None
guarantee success, planners say, given that dozens of suspected sites are buried deep
underground or near urban centers. Many risk causing not only casualties but a
political crisis in the Middle East.
Seymour Hersh is a well-known journalist credited with uncovering major stories
including the My Lai massacre in Vietnam in 1969 and details of prisoner abuse at Abu
Ghraib in Iraq. Some military and political officials have contested details of some
of his articles, and some critics say he is too eager to report assertions critical
of the government that are difficult to fully substantiate.
* Scott Shane contributed reporting for this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/world/middleeast/09iran.html?ex=1302235200&en=b820bfb4fa80562d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
.
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