Making Excuses for Iran

In a news article today, the Washington Post reports that Iran has cut back on some of its nuclear activities, though it continues to make progress in other areas of its nuclear program.

By highlighting areas that suggest Iran is rethinking its nuclear ambitions and de-emphasizing those areas that demonstrate otherwise, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the news media follow the example set by a U.S. Office of National Intelligence report last year which said Iran had "halted" its nuclear weapons program in 2002 0r 2003, when in fact it was only a temporary tactic.

By cherry-picking facts and using half-truths, critics of a more aggressive stance toward Iran hope to recruit others to their cause. Their efforts, however, are extremely dangerous, as they lead others to a false sense that the Iranian nuclear program is not an urgent threat. Such interference makes it more difficult to confront Iran on this issue.

Even IAEA head El-Baradei is contributing to efforts to pull the wool over our eyes, when he said: "[The Iranians] haven't really been adding centrifuges" [for uranium processing].

Well, either they have or they haven't. El-Baradei's attempts to obscure the truth are shameful.