Saturday, August 13, 2005

US Quietly Backs Off Hostage Claims.

After weeks of accusations against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new Iranian president, US intelligence reports are now emerging that show there is no evidence of the charge. The Bush administration had made allegations that Ahmadinejad was connected to the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran, which lead to the taking of American hostages. But The Washington Post is reporting US officials are now saying that the new Iranian president may have actually opposed the takeover. One US official said to The Washington Post, “There is relative certainty that he was not one of the actual captors.”

The allegations against Ahmadinejad were front page news for several days after his election, but The Post story was buried on page A9. Mix in a little WMD, and you got the perfect mix for déjà vu.

posted by Alva Goldbook at 8:16 AM

1 Comments:

Blogger Alva Goldbook said...

According to MSNBC, on June 30th, 2005, Bush said of Ahmadinejad to foreign reporters QUOTE “I have no information, but obviously his INVOLVEMENT raises many questions.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8410864/

And the Associated Press reported on August 8th, 2005, that “The State Department said there is no decision yet on whether Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will be granted a U.S. visa in order to attend the United Nations' huge General Assembly gathering in New York next month.” because… “of uncertainty about his role in events surrounding the embassy takeover in 1979.”

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said, “We also take very seriously information that someone has been involved in hostage-taking of American citizens in contravention of international law and international practice, and that certainly is a relevant consideration in the matter at hand.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/08/AR2005080800983.html

3:44 AM  

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