Israel Matzav

What did they know and when did they know it?

This is simply incredible (Hat Tip: Richard Fernandez).

Late Thursday night, two hours after it sent out President Barack Obama’s Friday schedule, the White House told reporters it was adding another event – a statement that he would give in the morning. Amid all the hoopla of the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, there was scant indication the announcement would be dramatic.

But behind the scenes, the Obama administration was furiously preparing for a major public intelligence disclosure that it had not planned to make: that the U.S. had known for years about a previously undisclosed clandestine nuclear enrichment facility Iran has been building since 2005 in a mountain near Qom.

Interviews with administration and international officials, diplomats, non-proliferation and Iran experts suggest the administration had no plans to announce its suspicions before beginning international talks with Iran next week. But its hand was forced after learning some time during the week of a letter Iran had sent the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency in Vienna acknowledging construction of a previously undisclosed facility.

"We became aware, we were told by the IAEA that Iran had provided them with this letter," a senior administration official said at a briefing Friday. "I think that it's very clear that the Iranian letter to the IAEA is too little too late, given the history of the construction of this facility, given the obligations they have, both to the IAEA and to the U.N. Security Council."

So when did the US know about this facility? Did they know in 2005 when Israel kicked all its Jews out of Gaza and allowed an Iranian-backed Hamas terror entity to be set up on its border? Did they know in 2007 when they published that bogus National Intelligence Estimate that took the military option out of George Bush's hands? Did they know at the beginning of 2009 when the Obumbler made his offer to 'engage' with Iran?

Whenever they knew - and didn't say - it was my life and the lives of my family with which they were playing games.

IAEA officials told Obama aides about the letter Tuesday evening in New York, The New York Times reported Saturday. They met with Obama and James L. Jones, his national security adviser, on Wednesday to discuss strategy. According to The Times, European officials urged Obama to disclose the Iranian facility on Thursday morning, when he presided over the U.N. Security Council, but Obama and his aides decided to wait until Friday.

Of course he had to wait. You don't think he wanted to spoil his party on the international stage, do you? (The words that are actually tumbling out of my mouth now are not what I am putting into this post, but words of pure anger laced with a fair share of curses). And by the way, an earlier version of that story claimed that the IAEA had not notified the US of Iran's letter. Another administration lie?

Here are the three stooges including Obama making the announcement. Let's go to the videotape.



Obama's statement is even weaker than I would have thought without watching it. He's still going on about non-proliferation - as if anyone other than Obama is going to give up their nuclear weapons - and re-committing to 'engagement.' He still thinks he's in a courtroom. Sarcozy is stronger than Obama is - and that's not saying much. Even Gordon Brown seems stronger - and he's rumored to be dead in the water. They're comparing him to Olmert here.

And by the way, go back and read the Politico piece I linked above. Note who WASN'T informed of Obama's announcement. You guessed it: Israel.

The Carnegie Foundation's George Perkovich suggests a reason why the White House may have held off for so long on announcing this:

“Because the Iranians are trying to get in front and create an argument that they didn't do anything wrong,” the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s George Perkovich told POLITICO. “So to try to block that, Obama had to get [it] out. We would have been better off not announcing and keeping it as leverage and a way to see if the Iranians kept their word in a future deal.”

I cannot attribute any such sensible strategy to Obama. Sorry - not after the last eight months.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:22 AM