Over the weekend, former vice president Dick Cheney appeared on a variety of TV news shows as part of the roll out of his new book (written together with his daughter Liz). On Fox News Sunday, Chis Wallace asked Cheney whether or not the Bush administration left president Obama a mess in Iran because the Iranian nuclear program was "blossoming". Cheney said that this was not the case since the Iranian program took off during the Obama years. Today, MSNBC has a piece on its website denouncing Cheney for being dishonest about the matter. Steve Benen claims in that article that there were over 5000 centrifuges in Iran already when Obama took office. So what's the truth?
We checked. Benen and MSNBC are wrong, and they know it. If anyone is telling lies, it's Benen and MSNBC, but, of course, that won't stop them.
Here are the facts:
1. During the Bush years, America had large numbers of troops in Iraq. Iran supplied weapons and other assistance to the Iraqi terrorists. It has been estimated that the single biggest cause of casualties for American troops in Iraq during the war was the IED weapons smuggled into Iraq by the Iranians. Nevertheless, the US forces did not want to confront the Iranians directly because that might expand the war by bringing Iranian forces directly into the battle.
2. During the Iraq War, the Iranians began surreptitiously to amass centrifuges to use to enrich uranium so as to eventually build a bomb. Most of the Iranian program was secret at the end of the Bush administration, but according to the UN estimates (from the IAEA), there were fewer than 3000 centrifuges in operation when Obama took office.
3. According to the CIA Iran needed a minimum of 5000 centrifuges in operation if it were ever to get to a point where it could build a bomb. This number has been reviewed approvingly by the liberal media like Politifact, the Washington Post and the New York Times. That means that as of the end of the Bush Administration, Iran did not yet have a program large enough to lead to a bomb.
Put all that together and it means that what Cheney said is correct and MSNBC and Benen are wrong -- OK, MSNBC and Benen are telling lies. They know the truth; they just won't admit it.
The reality here, however, is that the issue is not when did the Iranian nuclear program grow. The issue is rather what was done to confront Iran once the program reached critical mass. Obama did nothing but negotiate an agreement that tells Iran that it will be okay in a few years to have a bomb of its own. The whole world will pay the price for the weakness and delusions of Obama and his people.
We checked. Benen and MSNBC are wrong, and they know it. If anyone is telling lies, it's Benen and MSNBC, but, of course, that won't stop them.
Here are the facts:
1. During the Bush years, America had large numbers of troops in Iraq. Iran supplied weapons and other assistance to the Iraqi terrorists. It has been estimated that the single biggest cause of casualties for American troops in Iraq during the war was the IED weapons smuggled into Iraq by the Iranians. Nevertheless, the US forces did not want to confront the Iranians directly because that might expand the war by bringing Iranian forces directly into the battle.
2. During the Iraq War, the Iranians began surreptitiously to amass centrifuges to use to enrich uranium so as to eventually build a bomb. Most of the Iranian program was secret at the end of the Bush administration, but according to the UN estimates (from the IAEA), there were fewer than 3000 centrifuges in operation when Obama took office.
3. According to the CIA Iran needed a minimum of 5000 centrifuges in operation if it were ever to get to a point where it could build a bomb. This number has been reviewed approvingly by the liberal media like Politifact, the Washington Post and the New York Times. That means that as of the end of the Bush Administration, Iran did not yet have a program large enough to lead to a bomb.
Put all that together and it means that what Cheney said is correct and MSNBC and Benen are wrong -- OK, MSNBC and Benen are telling lies. They know the truth; they just won't admit it.
The reality here, however, is that the issue is not when did the Iranian nuclear program grow. The issue is rather what was done to confront Iran once the program reached critical mass. Obama did nothing but negotiate an agreement that tells Iran that it will be okay in a few years to have a bomb of its own. The whole world will pay the price for the weakness and delusions of Obama and his people.
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