Um, Robin, that’s the F’in problem. Please do show me a poll where any but the lunatic fringe (read: same neocon A-holes who cheerleaded us into Iraq) advocate attacking Iran, and any so-called journalist that would publish those yokels opinions today ought to be ostracized from the profession.

Seriously.

In at least two articles, she exploited the horrible and unfortunate capturing of Dr Esfandiari by labelling her as a “hostage” in order to re-kindle the anti-Iranian sentiment from the 1980s.

The problem with Wright’s use of “hostage” is that the Iranian government has never made any demands to secure Dr Esfandiari’s release.

Without making any demands, Dr Esfandiari is NOT a hostage.

Can it be that Wright does not know what a hostage is?

Wright is to Iran what Judith Miller was to Iraq.

Tehran Jails Iranian American Scholar After Long House Arrest, May 9, 2007, WaPo

Esfandiari is one of three “soft hostages,” all dual U.S.-Iranian nationals, whose passports have been confiscated by the Iranian government, rendering them unable to leave the country.

A New Iranian Hostage Crisis Tehran Calls Scholar Esfandiari a ‘Velvet’ Revolutionary, May 23, 2007, WaPo

Esfandiari is a most unlikely hostage.

Keywords: Robin Wright, Fanny Esfandiari, Iranian hostage Crisis, Khomeini, Kuwait 17, 1983 bombings of the American and French embassies, Dawa prisoners, Poindexter, Charles Dunbar, Ed Meese, Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, arms-for-hostages dealings, Hezbollah in Lebanon]

now to wright’s article.

all you need to know to determine her viewpoint (or her intellectual limitations) is this first sentence:

“Fourteen months after sec of state condelezza rice offered to talk to iran, the failure of carrot-and-stick diplomacy to block teheran’s nuclear and regional ambitions is producing a new drumbeat for bolder action, including the possible use of force.”

go that: “carrot-and-stick diplomacy has failed”. really?

how long did it take to work out a deal with the north koreans?

and there’s more: iran has not given up its “regional ambitions”.

my,my. imagine that – a large and reasonably prosperous middle-eastern nation refuses to give up its regional ambitions. what is wrong with those people?

isn’t it convenient that wright’s initial declarative sentence provides the rationale (”failure of diplomacy”) for the assertions of those right-wing political operatives and crackpots wright proceeds to cite.

first wright makes their case for them, then she quotes them supporting that case. sweet.

but wright’s feelings are hurt. criticism of her article by think progress is “intellectually dishonest”.

personally, i think it is wright’s letter to think progress that is highly intellectually dishonest, employing as it does the white-house briefing tactic of accusing your critics of doing what you yourself have done.

That was written by Washpo’s Dnana Priest Sunday, April 2, 2006; Page A01.

Kristol has been demanding the US bomb practically everyone since the late 1990s.

So Robin here is reporting “news”? And by quoting every major right-wing think tank who all want to bomb Iran or consider bommbong an option, and no opnions from anyone who thinks bombing might NOT be a good idea, she call that a DEBATE?!

Bullshit.

Comment by Crawford, Texas = Paradise — August 9, 2007 @ 4:50 pm

That’s correct. And when Clinton tried to capture him he was accused of “wagging the dog” trying to distract from the great blowjob caper the republicans were so intent on exposing to the American people.

Comment by Neocon Pundit — August 9, 2007 @ 6:00 pm.

Me too. But not that often. Sometimes they are just slow to post and I hit refresh a few times until it takes. The worst is when you post something, it goes up, and later it’s removed. I cannot determine the removal criteria and I tend to agree with y’all that the trolls can post some pretty nasty stuff and that seems fine?

My posts have been getting dumped or just not showing up all friggin’ day and I’m through! You these stupid trolls crap all over the boards and remove others’ substantive posts! Why?? Maybe you just want to encourage trolls because somehow you think the conflict they provide is good for your page hits numbers. But it’s f@cking bullsh!t!

I’m gone!