The Big Lie

One of the most important propaganda tools there is is to tell the big lie and keep repeating it over and over again until it is reaches general circulation and gains that status known as common knowledge. So it is that the New York Times lays the blame for North Korea and Iran and their respective nuclear programs at George Bush's feet.

Unless something changes soon, by the end of President Bush’s second term North Korea will have produced enough plutonium for 10 or more nuclear weapons while Iran’s scientists will be close to mastering the skills needed to build their own.

That’s quite a legacy for a president sworn to keep the world’s most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world’s most dangerous regimes.

Even if the United States were not tied down in Iraq, military action would be a disaster. Besides, American analysts don’t know where North Korea has stashed its plutonium nor what technology Iran might have hidden. Its huge centrifuge plant at Natanz is still nearly empty, and the more threatened Iran feels, the more reason it has to hide its program.

If Mr. Bush has any hope of avoiding this legacy, he will have to give up his dreams of regime change, persuade his battling inner circle he means it and direct Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to do some real diplomatic horse trading — starting with a clear pledge that the United States will not try to overthrow their governments as long as they give up their nuclear ambitions.

The Iranian nuclear program has been secretly working for at least 20 years and probably longer. The same with the North Koreans. The North Koreans and the Clinton administration reached a framework that was supposed to stop the nuclear program. The ink was not even dry when the North Koreans started right back up again. Here's a little shocker, that many people may not realize: North Korea had already extracted plutonium while Clinton was in office. Worse yet, the US also provided funds to stabilize deteriorating fuel rods.

Assuming these nations operate with the same rulebook is foolish. Blaming the situation all on the current president is dishonest. It is telling the big lie.