Beware of Journalists Who Mistake Their Personal Opinions for Fact

Recently at Davos, Iranian President Rouhani was interviewed by Fareed Zakaria, a journalist who is a CNN international editor and hosts the GPS news program, and who has an opinion on almost everything going on in the world. After he interviewed Rouhani, Zakaria continued his look at the Iranian nuclear issue this weekend. He explained when he, himself, was interviewed by CNN, how Iran is willing to do what is required to provide proof of its peaceful nuclear intentions, if the West will only have a little more trust : "You know, I’m struck by the fact that there is a commitment to negotiation. He [Rouhani] reiterated...made it clear it [nuclear weapons] is un-Islamic, it is forbidden, you can have as many inspections as you want. So there were some positive elements. But the bridge between the two positions, as I say, is so great that you would need a lot of trust. And we have very little. Remember, we’ve not talked to this country in 34 years. We’re just beginning this process. We’re not doing it one-on-one. And as a result, you know, these negotiations - and I’ve talked to people who have been in them - you don’t build a lot of trust when you have so many people in the room. You’ve got six countries on one side, Iran on the other. It’s difficult to imagine this one ending very happily." And concerning his interview wuth Rouhani, Zakaria explained : "Iranian officials are determined not to accept any constraints on their program. They speak often about the importance of being treated like any other country that has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which to them means produce electricity. In fact, the treaty says nothing about enrichment activities specifically. Many countries with nuclear power plants do claim, reasonably, that enrichment has so far been a permitted activity. The only criterion the treaty lays out is that all nuclear production must be 'for peaceful purposes.' The American vision of the final deal is quite different and stems from the notion that Iran must take special steps to provide confidence that its program is peaceful. It would allow Iran to enrich some small, symbolic amount of uranium, up to 5 percent....Washington wants to lengthen the lead time between a civilian and military program. Both sides will have to think hard about their core concerns." Thus we should not be surprised that, based on his expanding interest in Rouhani and the Iranian nuclear program, Zakaria then branched out into analyzing internal Iranian politics. His analysis yielded this gem of the art of arriving at important conclusions by simply searching inside oneself for "conviction" : "I have come away from meetings with Rouhani and Zarif convinced that they are moderates who seek greater integration of Iran with the world. (Rouhani hinted to me, for example, that in the next few months, the leaders of the Green Movement would be released.) But I am also sure that they are operating under constraints, with many domestic opponents. The same could be said of the Obama administration. It is better that both sides start preparing the ground domestically for a final deal - and the compromises it would involve - rather than hoping that somehow if it works out in Geneva, it will work out at home as well." Here is what Rouhani actually said about Green Movement political prisoners : "Well, nobody will remain in prison forever. And nobody stays under house arrest indefinitely. I believe that the conditions which prevail inside Iran calls for peace, calls for reconciliation, more convergence, less divergence. My feeling tells me that the conditions in the future will be comparatively better than what used to exist, that peaceful coexistence will be much more tangible inside Iran in comparison to years past. And I have every confidence that that day will come." ~~~~~ Dear readers, unless Rouhani whispered state secrets into the eager ear of Zakaria during breaks in filming, one would be hard pressed to celebrate any news of impending releases of dissident political leaders in Iran. Other news outlets in the world did not pick up the Zakaria pronouncement as news. In fact, Zakaria's "hint" of prisoner releases came from Rouhani's "feeling" that conditions will improve in the future. Put this fantasy of imaginary facts derived from vague conversation in the larger context of Zakaria's "conviction" that Rouhani is a genuine moderate, whom Zakaria sees as "operating under constraints, with many domestic opponents. The same could be said of the Obama administration." So, Zakaria leaps from hints and feelings to conviction and expressing the opinion that Rouhani and Obama are similarly moderate leaders constrained by bad guys at home who don't want a nuclear deal. ~~~~~ It's easy to document Fareed Zakaria's leaps into docu-drama because he is so enamoured with his own voice and clever ideas that he saves and posts all of them. But, Zakaria is not the only journalist creating fantastical conclusions out of sound bites given by politicians who have an agenda hidden from the world -- whether it is aimed at being elected US president or bombing Israel out of existence. Beware of all of them. Wait for Henry Kissinger to tell us what it means and in the meantime, skepticism is the only policy to follow when a journalist makes a pronouncement that goes beyond verifiable facts. ~~~~~ Badr Jamous, secretary-general of the Syrian National Coalition, got it right about Iran and Rouhani when he commented in Davos about Rouhani calling for a new election in Syria and saying his nation would respect the results if there is a fair election where free ballots are cast : "we should all accept" the outcome, Rouhani said. Badr Jamous derided the speech : "Should we look for the Syrian voters in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey?" he asked. "Or shall we look after the Syrian refugees in the boats sinking in the Mediterranean or in Europe or under the wreckage in Syria or in the cemeteries or in his prisons?" ~~~~~ That statement is realpolitik, and it doesn't often get air time with journalists, unless they are standing on the ground in one of the world's hellholes. But seeking out and understanding realpolitik is the only thing that keeps us out of the mouth of the wolf - wherever he may be lurking.