On Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a disingenuous offer to join in UN talks with Iran if Iran suspended its uranium enrichment activities.  Iran has long insisted on its "inalienable right" to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, and that it has no intention of attempting to develop nuclear weapons, despite claims to the contrary by Rice and other Bush administration luminaries.

As I and many others predicted, rejected the offer, describing it--justifiably--as the propaganda it was.  

Thursday, as reported by the Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press:

President Bush said Thursday that the standoff over Iran's suspected nuclear program is headed for the U.N. Security Council if Tehran continues to refuse to halt uranium enrichment.

"We'll see whether or not that is the firm position of their government," Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House. "If they continue their obstinance ... then the world will act in concert."

This Bushism was eerily resonant of something published earlier in the day in a New York Times article: "And while the Europeans and the Japanese said they were elated by Mr. Bush's turnaround, some participants in the drawn-out nuclear drama questioned whether this was an offer intended to fail, devised to show the extent of Iran's intransigence."

The Bush administration continues to use fuzzy rhetoric to blur the distinction between Iran's desire to build a nuclear energy industry and its alleged ambition to develop nuclear weapons.  

One of its leading echo chamberlains, David Brooks, repeated that mantra on Imus this morning, stating that having nuclear weapons was a "big deal" for Iran.

Imus said the Iran business is sounding like a replay of the Iraq situation.

You know it's obvious when Don sees it.

Brooks said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a "nut case."  Expect to hear more and more of that epithet.  Where did this propaganda vector start?  Best I can tell, it came from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who last April called Ahmadinejad a "psychopath" and likened him to Hitler.

Remember back when Saddam Hussein was a Hitler-like psychopath?

And how about North Korea's Kim Jong Il?  According to one blogger, Jong Il and Hitler actually share a fan club.  

Russia's Vladimir Putin has also been compared to Hitler.  

David Brooks himself has likened Iraqi Shia leader Moqatdr al Sadr to Hitler, calling him a "thug" and a "brown shirt."

How many Hitlers can you have in any given 70-year period?

Also on this morning's Imus, Brooks praised Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her openness with the American people.  "Openness," to Brooks, must mean a willingness to openly deceive, distort, dis-inform, and most importantly, frighten.  I'm waiting for her to let "smoking gun/mushroom cloud" slip out again.  

Some news sources are speculating that Condi's offer to Iran was made over the objections of Vice President Cheney, who theoretically wants to skip straight to the bombing phase of negotiations.  

I'm not convinced that's the case at all.  This phony "deal" she's offered Iran is one they almost have to refuse.  

If anything, it looks to me like Condi's handing Cheney the excuse he needs to hammer Iran on a silver platter.  

#

Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes from Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Read his weekday commentaries at ePluribus Media and Pen and Sword.