W Post/Kamen: She Didn't Get the Interview, but Iranians Didn't Get the Joke

She Didn't Get the Interview, but Iranians Didn't Get the Joke

By Al Kamen
Wednesday, October 31, 2007; Page A17

Liberals are accusing the Bush-Cheney folks of trying to foment World War
III or IV with all that reckless saber-rattling about Iranian nukes.

But it seems New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd brought us closer to the
brink with a Sunday column in which she purported to interview Vice
President Cheney. This is how it played on Press TV, the first international
Iran-based news network to broadcast 24-7 in English.

"Cheney: Iran has WMDs, just like Iraq," said the headline on the online
edition, posted Sunday.

"The US Vice President, *** Cheney, has accused the Islamic Republic of
having weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), 'just like Saddam,' " the story
read.

"While the negotiations are underway between Iran and the UN nuclear
watchdog, the hawkish US official said the White House considers Iran's
nuclear dossier in 'the final stages of diplomacy,' " the report said.

"'We are not going to get hung up on democracy this time,' *** Cheney said
in an interview with the New York Times on Sunday. 'It's time for squash.
Not to mention mushrooms, clouds of them,' said the Vice President, when
asked how close Washington was to launching military strikes on Iran.

"When asked if he would wait for the new round of sanctions against Iran, he
said Washington has waited enough, adding that 'the sanctions were announced
Thursday. It's now Sunday.' "

Press TV added a couple of context paragraphs. "The US invaded Iraq in 2003
under the pretext of Iraq's WMD program but the alleged weapons of mass
destruction had never been found in the country," it said, noting that U.N.
nuke inspector Mohamed ElBaradei had said on Sunday there's no proof Iran is
"developing nuclear arms."

The item was no longer on the site yesterday, maybe because someone realized
Cheney would no more sit down and chat with Dowd than he would with Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.

Chatting with us yesterday, Dowd noted that satire has its risks.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103001
975.html

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