http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/iran This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: Iran en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America http://mediamatters.org/items/200806160009 In an analysis, CNN.com asserted that Sen. Barack Obama "may have" launched "[t]he first salvo of the general election's age war" when he "argued in an interview ... that [Sen. John] McCain had 'lost his bearings' while pursuing the Republican nomination." But CNN.com did not provide the context of Obama's remark, which would have made clear that Obama was responding to a smear by McCain and was accusing McCain of violating his pledge to avoid negative campaigning when he made the statement. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806160009 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:05:10 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060008 On his radio show, Mark Levin falsely asserted that Sen. Barack Obama "lied to" the American Israel Public Affairs Committee when he "told them today that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards should be designated a terrorist group after voting against a bill designating them a terrorist group a year ago." Similarly, Fox News' Martha MacCallum asserted that Obama "seems to be changing his tune on the significant issue." In fact, Obama has consistently supported designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, having co-sponsored a bill in 2007 to do that. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060008 Fri, 6 Jun 2008 19:59:19 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200806050010 In an article discussing Sen. Barack Obama's and Sen. John McCain's positions on direct diplomacy with Iran, the AP reported that "Condoleezza Rice, a key player for eight years in the Bush administration's strategy to try to isolate Iran, told AIPAC on Tuesday that there is no point engaging Iran 'while they continue to inch closer to a nuclear weapon under the cover of talks.' " But, while noting that Madeleine Albright took a different position in a speech two years ago, the article did not note that President Bush's own secretary of defense, Robert Gates, has also reportedly said the United States should "sit down and talk" with Iran. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806050010 Thu, 5 Jun 2008 20:12:46 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200806040005 On <em>Lou Dobbs Tonight</em>, Lou Dobbs and Michael Goodwin cited House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comments about Iran negotiating an end to fighting in Basra, Iraq, to accuse her of being unwilling to give credit to U.S. troops and being "invested in failure" when, in fact, CNN itself reported that Iran had played an integral role in brokering a cease-fire in Basra, as did numerous other media outlets. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806040005 Wed, 4 Jun 2008 15:16:21 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200805220004 MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell falsely asserted that James Baker has taken the position that there must be preconditions before the United States enters into talks with Iran. In fact, at a forum in March, Baker said that he favors the United States negotiating with Iran "without preconditions" over how to handle Iraq, just as the United States had engaged Iran in discussions "about our common interest in a stable Afghanistan" from 2001 to 2003. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805220004 Thu, 22 May 2008 14:38:35 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200805200005 Fox News' Carl Cameron reported that Sen. John McCain "suggested [Sen. Barack] Obama is na&iuml;ve" for his position on negotiating with Iran, and aired a clip of McCain saying, "It could very well convince him [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] that those policies are succeeding in strengthening his hold on power, and embolden him to continue his very dangerous behavior. The next president ought to understand such basic realities of international relations." But Cameron did not note that Defense Secretary Robert Gates also reportedly has said that the United States should "sit down and talk with" Iran. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805200005 Tue, 20 May 2008 17:12:16 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200805190005 A <em>South Florida Sun-Sentinel</em> article quoted Sid Dinerstein, chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party, saying, "This is a terrible thing," and adding, "I wish Obama would not pretend to care about the Jewish community." At no point did the article quote the Obama campaign or anyone besides Dinerstein on the issue of Obama's commitment to the Jewish community. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805190005 Mon, 19 May 2008 16:23:38 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200805160009 While discussing President Bush's speech to the Israeli Knesset, in which Bush stated that "some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals," Jeff Greenfield stated that "the number one fear in Israel and among some American Jews is Iran -- that's who Obama wants to talk to." However, Greenfield did not note that Defense Secretary Robert Gates reportedly stated that the United States should "sit down and talk with" Iran. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805160009 Fri, 16 May 2008 20:35:11 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090005 During a panel discussion on <em>America's Election HQ </em>that included two former Bush administration officials but no progressives or Democrats, Ari Fleischer said Sen. John McCain's questioning of Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker showed "he had the best intuitive understanding of the issues." But no participant in the discussion noted that during his questioning of Petraeus, McCain asked of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQ-I): "Certainly not an obscure sect of -- of the Shiites all -- overall?" In fact, AQ-I is a Sunni Muslim, not Shiite, group. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090005 Wed, 9 Apr 2008 15:49:17 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200804020010 In reporting on Sen. John McCain's campaign's defense of his comment that he would be "fine" with a U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to that in South Korea, neither the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> nor the Associated Press noted McCain's prior inconsistent statements on that subject. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804020010 Wed, 2 Apr 2008 20:52:18 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200803200011 After Chuck Todd acknowledged a media double standard in coverage of Sen. John McCain's Al Qaeda-Iran gaffe, CNBC's John Harwood asserted on <em>Morning Joe</em>: "I think that at the end of the day, John McCain has got sufficient credibility on that issue that people are not going to look at that and say, 'Oh, John McCain is confused' or 'John McCain's too old' or 'John McCain doesn't get it.' ... But he obviously can't do that too many times or he's got a problem." Harwood was not alone in misrepresenting or excusing McCain's false claim on MSNBC; several MSNBC reporters and anchors have ignored or excused McCain's false claim. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803200011 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:01:40 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200803190011 Reuters and <em>Special Report</em> both reported that Sen. John McCain simply "misspoke" when he said in a March 18 press conference that "it's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran." But McCain did not refer to Al Qaeda training in Iran just once during the press conference -- he did so twice. Moreover, he made the same misstatement the day before on Hugh Hewitt's radio program. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803190011 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:04:42 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200803190002 UPI reported that Sen. John McCain "said concern still exists that Iran could be training Iraqi extremists in Iran then returning them to Iraq." In fact, McCain specifically claimed that Iranian operatives are "taking <em><em>al-Qaeda</em></em> into Iran, training them and sending them back" -- a misstatement he has made on at least one other occasion. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803190002 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:53:56 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200803180007 Some in the media have echoed the McCain campaign's assertion that he simply "misspoke" when he said at a March 18 press conference that Iranian operatives are "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back." In fact, McCain made the misstatement twice during the press conference, and also made it the day before on Hugh Hewitt's radio show. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803180007 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:47:13 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200803180005 The Associated Press reported that Sen. John McCain voiced concern about Iran allegedly training "militants" and sending them to fight in Iraq, while CNN.com's Political Ticker reported that McCain had referred to "Iraqi extremists" being trained by Iran. In fact, McCain did not refer generically to "militants" or "Iraqi extremists"; he claimed that Iranian operatives are "taking <em>al-Qaeda</em> into Iran, training them and sending them back" to fight U.S. troops in Iraq, a misstatement that <em>Washington Post</em> reporters Cameron W. Barr and Michael D. Shear wrote "threatened to undermine McCain's argument that his decades of foreign policy experience make him the natural choice to lead a country at war with terrorists." http://mediamatters.org/items/200803180005 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:39:51 EST