Produce the Fatwa - Thomas Joscelyn
In a statement Thursday to mark Nowruz, the Persian new year, President Obama said: "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons."
If the president is so confident that Khamenei's alleged fatwa exists, then his administration should be able to produce a copy of it, revealing when it was written and what it says. The Washington Post's fact checker went looking for the fatwa and couldn't find it.
There is another problem. Khamenei says all sorts of things, many of which we know are false. For example, he has repeatedly claimed that the Obama administration supports the Islamic State. And Khamenei has clearly lied about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
(Weekly Standard)
4 comments:
The pieces here are presented and edited in a way that produces slanted journalism. Here is the Washington Post article and you will see, if you actually read or watch Obama's statement, that all is generally in accordance. Everyone knows that an ayatollah's fatwa, written or oral, is not guaranteed not to change. He was using it as a tool and when we report on it we should try to view it as such. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2013/11/27/did-irans-supreme-leader-issue-a-fatwa-against-the-development-of-nuclear-weapons/
That is your point. My point is that there is no such fatwa. If he cannot substantiate the existence of such a fatwa, President Obama would be lying.
This is not the first time this mysterious fatwa has made the press. Way before President Obama made this flub, people have been bringing this up. Problem is, it is a known fabrication.
Bruce
They didn't find one or discount it and there's was more to their conclusion. By headlining it Pinocchio test and using just that sentence you leave out the conclusion, which is it is up in the air and probably inconsequential: The Pinocchio Test
Just about every Alfred Hitchcock thriller had what he called a “MacGuffin” — a plot device that gets the action going but is unimportant to the overall story. The Iranian fatwa thus appears to be a diplomatic MacGuffin — something that gives the Americans a reason to begin to trust the Iranians and the Iranians a reason to make a deal. No one knows how this story will end, but just as in the movies, the fatwa likely will not be critical to the outcome.
Even if one believes the fatwa exists — and will not later be reversed — it clearly appears to have evolved over time. U.S. officials should be careful about saying the fatwa prohibits the development of nuclear weapons, as that is not especially clear anymore. The administration’s statements at this point do not quite rise to the level of earning Pinocchios, but we will keep an eye on this issue.
Ah, I see what you mean. Yes, you are correct. The sentence I took does not appear to reflect the thrust of the article. I do this very part time and didn't read the article carefully enough. I stand corrected and will remove the article and its soundbite. Thankx for your diligence.
Bruce :}
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