Military Action against Iran?
Host:
Produced by:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Listen to/Watch entire show:
Legacy Player:
The White House denies it, but reports persist that President Bush plans to attack Iran before leaving office. Senators of both parties have raised the prospect in public. We hear about possible targets and rationales. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under fire for corruption, and former press secretary Scott McClellan says the Bush White House misled the nation about war in Iraq.
Making News
Israel's Ehud Olmert under Fire for Corruption ()
Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak says Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should remove himself from office, pending the outcome of a high-profile corruption case. A former prime minister himself, Barack now leads the Labor Party, part of Olmert's governing coalition. Tim McGirk is Jerusalem Bureau Chief for Time magazine.
Guests:
- Tim McGirk: Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Time Magazine
Main Topic
Iran and the Prospect of Military Action ()
Last week, the Jerusalem Post reported that the Bush Administration planned to attack Iran before leaving office. The White House said the story "was not worth the paper it was printed on," but Senators of both parties have been asking if there are any such plans. There's another report today that the Bush Administration plans to attack Iran, this time from the Asia Times, which cites a former assistant secretary of state saying the US plans an air strike on the headquarters of Iran's elite Quds force, which the US calls a "terrorist group." The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is "willfully uncooperative" about its nuclear program. What are the prospects—and possible consequences—of attacking Iran? Is it good diplomacy to keep "all options open?"
Guests:
- Shmuel Rosner: Washington Correspondent, Ha'aretz, @rosnersdomain
- Barbara Slavin: Senior Fellow, United States Institute for Peace, @barbaraslavin1
- Milton Hoenig: nuclear physicist
- Hooshang Amirahmadi: President and Founder, American Iranian Council
Links:
- Laura Rosen's (Mother Jones) blog on the Iran rumor
- 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear intentions, capabilities
- Rosner's article on whether Bush would attack
- Slavin's 'Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to Confrontation'
- Hoenig's 'The New Iranian Leadership: Ahmadinejad, Terrorism, Nuclear Ambition and the Middle East'
Reporter's Notebook
Scott McClellan Book Trashes the Bush White House ()
He was the White House Press Secretary who helped President Bush to persuade the nation that war with Iraq was "necessary." But in a new book, he says it was "not necessary," and that an "incurious" President deceived himself with the assistance of advisors, including Condoleezza Rice. Scott McClellan, who came to Washington with Bush, was press secretary for three years, until he was forced out by a new chief of staff in 2006. His new book is What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception. Michael Shear reports for the Washington Post.
Guests:
- Michael Shear: National Political Reporter, Washington Post, @shearm
Links:
CD copies of To the Point are available by calling 1.888.600.5279.
Engage & Discuss
Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.
For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
