Seymour Hersch is one of the preeminent investigative reporters of our times. Starting with his Pulitzer prize winning journalism, that exposed the massacre in the Vietnam village of Mia Lia. He continues to produce some of the most well researched and thoroughly sourced pieces about America's military and intelligence services. I started reading his articles in the New Yorker after I got back from Iraq. His reach is unparalleled, and his articles are prescient.
More recently the focus of his articles have been Iran (1,2,3,4). More specifically, our administrations slow creep in the instigation of a war with that country. He recently sat down with his editor from the New Yorker, during their annual festival, to discuss his coverage of the administrations fixation on Iran. The first money quote is after the editor asks him how do we deal with Iran, other than militarily, and Hersh responds "there is only one way. . .he wants to do it." It is apparent from what Sy says, is that Bush & Co. are still focused on going into Iran. They are not interested in a diplomatic solution that would necessitate us sitting down with one of the axis. Which is ironic, considering we have just cut a deal with the North Koreans concerning their nuclear program. Wherein they have agreed to halt their weapons production, and the international community will supply amongst many things fuel oil. The fact that North Korea already has the reactor and the weapons technology, and we could still negotiate with them seems more than hypocritical.
I believe it is incumbent upon a responsible citizen to read these articles. This slow creep in the escalating bellicose rhetoric of our administration is frightening similar to the lead up to Iraq. I have increased faith that our media is more on guard against the type of hype that surrounded the run up to the Iraq war, but not in the decision making apparatus at the highest levels of our civilian leadership, either for fear of bucking the "war on terrorism" fight, or from those who are hell bent on regime change in Iran.
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