The Washington Post is at it again.
A September 15 article in the Post contained the following gem (emphasis mine): [1]
Israel’s security establishment fears that a failure to punish Syria for its use of chemical weapons could encourage Tehran, Syria’s ally, to continue to enrich uranium for a bomb.
This sentence implies that Iran is currently enriching uranium for a nuclear bomb. But there is no evidence at all that this is the case. [2] In fact, both US and Israeli intelligence agree that Iran is not trying to build a nuclear weapon. [3] So the Post should correct this sentence.
We’ve been through all of this before with the Post‘s former Ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, who acknowledged that a header and subheader the Post printed back in 2011 was misleading because it implied that Iran was trying to build a nuclear weapon. [4] Asked to weigh in on the current controversy, Pexton responded on Twitter that [5]
That sentence is easy to miss but I think it should be corrected. No govt has yet said Iran is enriching for a bomb.
Unfortunately, the Post eliminated the Ombudsman position earlier this year when Pexton’s contract ran out. [6] He was “replaced” by Douglas Feaver, who holds the title “Reader Representative.” But Feaver has yet to respond to numerous calls over the last month to correct misleading Post passages on Iran’s nuclear program. [7]
Let’s flood Feaver’s inbox so he can’t ignore the truth any longer. It only took 1500 emails to get Pexton to issue his original correction. [8] With your help, we may be able to stop the Post from getting ahead of the facts on Iran yet again.
https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/wapo-iran-facts
Thank you for all you do to help bring about a more just foreign policy,
Megan Iorio
Just Foreign Policy
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References:
1. “Kerry tells Israel that Syria accord is no prelude to Iran deal,” Anne Gearan and William Booth, Washington Post, September 15, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/kerry-tells-israel-that-syria-accord-no-prelude-to-iran-deal/2013/09/15/b375f724-1e21-11e3-9ad0-96244100e647_story.html
2. “No, Iran is not enriching uranium to weapons grade,” Sina Toosi, Iran Fact Check, http://www.iranfact.org/no-iran-is-not-enriching-uranium-to-weapons-grade/
3. “Do the US and Israel Believe Iran is Developing Nuclear Weapons?” Iran Fact Check, http://www.iranfact.org/do-the-u-s-and-israel-believe-iran-is-developing-nuclear-weapons/
4. “Getting ahead of the facts on Iran,” Patrick Pexton, Washington Post, December 9, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/getting-ahead-of-the-facts-on-iran/2011/12/07/gIQAAvvCjO_story.html
5. “WaPo: Back to Getting Ahead of the Facts on Iran,” Megan Iorio, Just Foreign Policy, September 16, 2013, https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1457
6. “Post ombudsman will be replaced by reader representative,” Paul Farhi, Washington Post, March 1, 2013, http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-01/lifestyle/37374338_1_reader-representative-post-ombudsman-hiatt
7. “WaPo: Back to Getting Ahead of the Facts on Iran,” Megan Iorio, Just Foreign Policy, September 16, 2013, https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1457
8. “Victory! WaPo Fixes Headline Claiming Iran Has Nuclear Weapons Program,” Megan Iorio, Just Foreign Policy, December 7, 2011, https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1093