The Drudge Report posted a headline that falsely claimed that President Obama was “Caught By Surprise” by Iran's acknowledgement that it is building a second nuclear facility. In fact, the Washington Post article to which Drudge linked quoted a senior White House official stating, “We've been aware of this facility for several years, building up a case so that we had very strong evidence.”
Drudge's suggestion that Obama “Caught by Surprise” by Iranian nuke facility contradicted by linked article
Published
On September 25, the Drudge Report displayed this image and link, which pointed to a September 25 Washington Post article:
Wash. Post quotes White House official stating, “We've been aware of this facility for several years”
From the September 25 Washington Post article:
But White House officials said Western intelligence agencies have known about the facility for several years and believe that Iran acknowledged its existence Monday in an attempt to head off intense criticism that they knew was coming.
“We believe that the Iranians learned that the secrecy of the facility had been compromised,” a senior White House official said Friday morning. “We've been aware of this facility for several years, building up a case so that we had very strong evidence.” [The Washington Post, 9/25/09]
NY Times, Fox News also report Obama administration knew about Iranian facility
New York Times: “American officials said that they had been tracking the covert project for years”:
American officials said that they had been tracking the covert project for years, but that Mr. Obama decided to disclose the American findings after Iran discovered, in recent weeks, that Western intelligence agencies had breached the secrecy surrounding the complex. On Monday, Iran wrote a brief, cryptic letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying that it now had a “pilot plant” under construction, whose existence it had never before revealed. [The New York Times, 9/25/09]
Fox News: Administration official said “U.S. has been tracking the secret project for years”:
A senior administration official told FOX News that the U.S. has been tracking the secret project for years, but Obama's announcement comes after Iran discovered in recent weeks that the West had been monitoring the project. [FoxNews.com, 9/25/09]