Posted on 10/21/2012 7:40:17 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The White House scrambled late Saturday to deny a New York Times report claiming Iran has agreed to meet directly with U.S. officials to discuss its nuclear program, sending New York Times editors rushing to quietly but substantially revise their initial reporting on a key foreign policy issue for the second time in as many months.
According to the Times, which anonymously quoted senior administration officials, Iran told diplomats it wanted to wait until after the November presidential election to put plans for the meeting in motion. (VIEW THE ORIGINAL NYT STORY)
“It has the potential to help Mr. Obama make the case that he is nearing a diplomatic breakthrough in the decade-long effort by the world’s major powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions,” the Times report said, adding that “it could pose a risk if Iran is seen as using the prospect of the direct talks to buy time.”
Within hours, White House officials responded the report was mostly inaccurate.
“It’s not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. ”[However, the White House has] said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally.”
“The President has made clear that he will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and we will do what we must to achieve that,” Vietor added. “It has always been our goal for sanctions to pressure Iran to come in line with its obligations. The onus is on the Iranians to do so, otherwise they will continue to face crippling sanctions and increased pressure.”
Meanwhile, a senior administration official told NBC News on background that back-channel talks with Iran were in progress, but confirmed that no definite agreement about a meeting had been reached.
When the New York Times updated its story late Saturday to reflect Vietor’s statement, the paper made no mention of the update or any correction to the story, leaving readers with the impression that the White House’s denial had been in the story all along. In fact, the initial version of the story portrayed the development as a tentative victory for the Obama administration, which has recently been faced with foreign policy crises in the Middle East and Libya. (VIEW THE REVISED NYT STORY)
ping
Caught red-handed playing the propaganda game. I love it.
Thanks for the ping!
I think Pinch just got punched out, or he is in a pinch himself.
I would say this...there was a inside team to the White House working on this treaty deal...probably for months. It was supposed to conclude two or three weeks before the election, and be the final bit for the President to win.
Outside of the group....there’s probably a dozen White House folks who have each a connection at the New York Times. One of them stumbled onto a couple of details probably a month ago and thought that this was 5-star gossip, and quietly told their New York Times person.
The problem here is that eventually...the Iranians realized that any treaty you sign has to be observed by the winner. If Obama didn’t win...this treaty was worthless. So they cooled off real quick.
The White House inside team probably figured this out last week, and probably are furious that the story got out now.
This all makes the President look like Chamberlain in 1938.
Can anyone spell trial balloon?
Hey, the New York Times bought every lie Obama's team put out about Benghazi - why wouldn't they do the same with lies about Iran?
When the boys at the New York Times say 'we suck less' we're not sure what that means to men and women wearing knee pads - looking up at Obama... Is 'less' really more?
Hey, the New York Times bought every lie Obama's team put out about Benghazi - why wouldn't they do the same with lies about Iran?
When the boys at the New York Times say 'we suck less' we're not sure what that means to men and women wearing knee pads - looking up at Obama... Is 'less' really more? And why are they proud of that?
Whoring for democrats takes on whole new meanings... or maybe the old ones will do.
Our tax dollars at work. White House thugs demanding changes to so called free press publications. And it only took 27 minutes to have the story altered.
Iran will N E V E R GIVE UP TRYING TO OBTAIN NUKES through mere negotiation.
NEVER.
There is no Oct. Surprise beyond its use as a marketing tool.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.