PRIME RATTUS:

Well the Iranian thing is separate to some extent but because geographically Iran is broadly in that area there's a commonality to it. I acknowledged why you would put it in that context. But of course it is difficult, and why it is difficult in relation to Iraq and Afghanistan is that we are fighting against terrorist forces that are determined to do great damage and bring about great destruction on our way of life and it is tremendously important that we succeed.

I mean you mention Iran, can you imagine how emboldened Iran would be if the coalition were defeated in Iraq?

I mean has anybody seriously imagined that if the coalition is seen to be defeated in Iraq that that would do anything other than give the Iranians an enormous boost?

You can imagine the instability it would cause in Saudi Arabia and in Jordan. I mean the more that Iran engages in the rhetorical flourishes that we are witnessing at the moment, and the more that she flaunts the authority of the United Nations, the more evidence there is in my view that the coalition must succeed in Iraq.

I mean nobody in their right minds could argue that we would bring about reconciliation with Iran by acquiescing in defeat in Iraq, it seems to me to be against all elements of commonsense to think otherwise.

and, whilst rattus raves ….

In his book, Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin, Larry Beinhart argued that the big commercial media do in fact report just about everything that an engaged citizen needs to make sense of his or her world. The problem, Beinhart wrote, is that crucially important items that defy the dominant political narratives of the day all too often become "fog facts" -- reported and placed in the public record but buried deep down to die lonely deaths in stories below the fold on page B 27.

Yesterday, the AP ran a story about Iran's nuclear program that was a perfect example of the phenomenon. Consider the opening four paragraphs …

NATANZ, Iran - Iran announced Monday that it has begun enriching uranium with 3,000 centrifuges, defiantly expanding a nuclear program that has drawn U.N. sanctions and condemnation from the West.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony at the enrichment facility at Natanz that Iran was now capable of enriching nuclear fuel "on an industrial scale."

Asked if Iran has begun injecting uranium gas into 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani replied, "Yes." He did not elaborate, but it was the first confirmation that Iran had installed the larger set of centrifuges after months of saying it intends to do so. Until now, Iran was only known to have 328 centrifuges operating.

Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material for a nuclear warhead. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of intending to produce weapons, a charge the country denies.

That's followed by comments by a U.S. State Department spokesman and a White House official condemning Iran, a "no comment" from the IAEA, an inflammatory quote or two from a speech given by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a quote from Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations.

If you make it through all of that, you'll eventually reach the 22nd paragraph, where you'll unearth this pertinent little fact:

Experts say the Natanz plant needs between 50,000 to 60,000 centrifuges to consistently produce fuel for a reactor or build a warhead.

Yes, in the 22nd paragraph of the 28-graph story, we learn that the 3,000 centrifuges are one twentieth of the number experts say are needed to build a warhead! That, my friends, is a fog fact.

PS: I know it would be asking too much for these reports to mention a key aspect of the UN sanctions against Iran. The resolution authorizing them offers no cause that justifies them. There's no sentence in there like, "whereas Iran is violating blah blah blah." That's because Iran - like all other signatories of the Non Proliferation Treaty - is guaranteed the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, and the process is the same until you stick the enriched uranium in a weapon.