Hersh claims Bush to nuke Iran

Telegraph  via Drudge

The Bush administration is planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran, to prevent it acquiring its own atomic warheads, claims an investigative writer with high-level Pentagon and intelligence contacts.

President George W Bush is said to be so alarmed by the threat of Iran's hard-line leader, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, that privately he refers to him as "the new Hitler", says Seymour Hersh, who broke the story of the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

AND

The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings among the joint chiefs of staff, and some officers have talked about resigning, Hersh has been told.

Wow, old Hershy boy must have some high level military friends: DOD

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2004

---

Department of Defense Statement on Seymour Hersh Book

Based on media inquiries, it appears that Mr. Seymor Hersh’s upcoming book apparently contains many of the numerous unsubstantiated allegations and inaccuracies which he has made in the past based upon unnamed sources.

 

Detainee operations  in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere have been examined extensively  – both within the Department of Defense and by an independent panel led by former Secretary of Defense Jim Schlesinger.  The U.S. military itself  --  not Mr. Hersh or any other reporter – first publicized the facts of the abuses at Abu Ghraib in January 2004,  four months before Mr. Hersh “broke” the story.

 

To date the Department has conducted 11 investigations, of which eight reports have been completed and released, additionally:

 

• Over 13,000 pages of reports have been compiled thus far.
• Investigators have completed 950 interviews.
• 43 Congressional briefings and hearings have been conducted (not to mention 39 additional briefings for Congressional staff).

      Those responsible for criminal activities at Abu Ghraib or other detention facilities are being held accountable.

 

• 45 individuals have been referred for courts-martial
• 12 for General Officer Letters of Reprimand
• 23 Soldiers have been administratively separated

      There are ongoing investigations, and there will be more information disclosed. Thus far these investigations have determined that no responsible official of the Department of Defense approved any program that could conceivably have authorized or condoned  the abuses seen at Abu Ghraib.

 

       If any of  Mr. Hersh’s anonymous sources wish to come forward and offer evidence to the contrary, the department  welcomes them to do so.   There are several open investigations, and we would certainly investigate their allegations without prejudice or hesitation.

In my entire life I have never seen a DOD press release basically calling someone a liar and implying that his "anonymous sources" are either fictional or full of sh@#.

Doesn't really look like the Joint Chiefs of Staff are lining up to tell this guy Top Secret war plans when they are putting out press releases calling him a liar.

Also, did I just miss it or was there not even a "we tried to contact...for a response" statement in this article? Wouldn't you think talking to somebody before accusing them of planning to nuke a country would be a good idea? Oh well, guess that's why I am not a journalist (thank God).

Outside the Beltway

Michelle Malkin

Ace of Spades

Comments

[Hadley Rille]

"Wow, old Hershy boy must have some high level military friends"

Maybe not. I was sitting in the Detroit Metro airport Tuesday morning when one Sy Hersh sat down next to me and proceeded to edit his piece by telephone with someone at the New Yorker. His anonymous source has the rank of colonel. Mr. Hersh was aggrivated that the New Yorker did not want to include the word 'f**king' in his source's quotes. Apparently such language is not appropriate for the magazine.

[swamp6]

lol
Journalists can say anything they want with inpunity. Amazing.
Good post.