Well, that was quick. After briefing last week that the Iranian government itself was providing weapons to Iraq insurgents (albeit without substantiation, and with conflicting statements from various elements), the White House now is backing off those claims, blaming the intelligence briefer for exaggerating. Unfortunately, this leaves the country, yet again, having no idea whether to trust these type of statements from the administration or not. It is no longer a matter of controversy that the White House was willing to (at least) cherry-pick intelligence four years ago in order to provide a case for a plan of action that it already planned to take. This isn't strictly a political concern: Iran could well be a real threat at this moment, but very few Americans are likely to take any real threat intelligence seriously, especially when the circumstances are so similar, nor is there much will to take action. Fatigue in the face of future threats may indeed be one of the highest costs of the Iraq War.
The White House needs to work to restore its credibility on these issues, not be accusing the Iranians of acts of war, and then backing down. Are they, or aren't they? If they are, you'd better be prepared to lay the evidence on the table. Anything short of a full and convincing disclosure won't be perceived as anything more than crying wolf.
"Fatigue in the face of future threats may indeed be one of the highest costs of the Iraq War."
Well said, Rosserford. That's the truth G' dammit!
Posted by: bilhouse | Friday, February 16, 2007 at 11:16 AM