[Peace-discuss] U.S. Media Censors U.S. Support of Iran Fuel Swap

[Robert Naiman]

Sao Paulo - If you get your information from major U.S. media, and you
follow U.S. foreign policy, then you know that last week Iran, Brazil, and
Turkey signed an agreement for Iran to ship about half of its stockpile of
low-enriched uranium to Turkey, in exchange for subsequent Western supply of
higher-enriched uranium to fuel Iran's medical research reactor - fuel Iran
needs in order to treat Iranian medical patients, fuel to which Iran is
entitled as a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

If you were paying close attention, you might know that the deal is quite
similar to one proposed a few months ago by the United States. An initial *
AP* story on the *Washington Post*'s website last Monday - which I
cited<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/its-gollllllll-for-lula-a_b_578390.html>
at
the time - said the agreement was "nearly identical" to the deal the U.S.
was pressing for, although by the end of the day the *AP* article on the *
Post*'s website had been revised to downgrade this comparison to
"mirrors<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/17/AR2010051700243_2.html>."
[The original *AP* story is still visible
here<http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100517/world/iran_nuclear_16>.]
U.S. officials have dismissed the deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey, even
though the deal is "nearly identical" to the one proposed by the U.S.
Indeed, according to the *Washington Post*, U.S. officials are "thoroughly
irritated<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/23/AR2010052303882.html>"
with Turkey for its role in mediating the agreement.

But if you get your information from major U.S. media, here's something that
you almost certainly don't know: Brazil and Turkey say that before they
reached the deal, they understood that they had the backing of the Obama
Administration for their efforts. The available evidence suggests that
Brazil and Turkey had good reason to believe that they had U.S. support, and
that the Obama Administration has taken a 180 degree turn in its position in
the last few weeks, and is now trying to cover its tracks, with the active
collaboration of major U.S. media.
(continued:)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/us-media-censors-us-suppo_b_588470.html

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from
Afghanistan
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern

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