U.S. says Iranians witnessed N.K. missile test

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20423497.htm

U.S. says Iranians witnessed N.K. missile test

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - One or more Iranians witnessed North Korea's recent missile tests, deepening U.S. concerns about growing ties between two countries with troubling nuclear capabilities, a top U.S. official said on Thursday.

Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing about reports that Iranians witnessed the July 4 tests, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, replied: "Yes, that is my understanding" and it is "absolutely correct" that the relationship is worrisome.

Hill's comments are believed to be the first public U.S. confirmation that Iranian representatives observed the seven tests, which involved one launch of a long-range ballistic missile, which failed soon after being fired, and six tests of short and medium-range missiles. Hill said the six succeeded in hitting their target range.

But U.S. officials have long said that Iran and North Korea have been collaborating and have expressed serious concerns that cash-strapped Pyongyang was keen to sell missiles and possibly also nuclear material. "Our understanding is that North Korea has had a number of commercial relations in the Middle East with respect to missiles," Hill said.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Yeah, like I believe anything US Officials say

anymore.

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. 'Fess up, Mr. Hill. WHERE did that intelligence come from?

Remember, those sixteen words were credited to "British intelligence". So, tell us who gave us this intel.

[Newsjock]

3. Propaganda

Hill's comments are believed to be the first public U.S. confirmation

"U.S. confirmation" is total bs. Just more planted stories from the Rapture Ready crowd.

[saigon68]

12. REEKS TO HIGH HEAVEN

[wtmusic]

4. z-z-z-z...so obvious

the Axis of Evil redux.

[GreenTea]

5. Keep piling on the bullshit! They KNOW no one can disprove a lie like

this and do these fuckers lie...Anything to get their way, to bomb another oil rich country.

[Lerkfish]

6. even if this were true, it cannot be used as a pretext to invade Iran

without invading North Korea first.

[daleo]

7. Weasel words, lying with the truth

"Yes, that is my understanding" - in other words, I think so but I don't necessarily have evidence.

""absolutely correct" that the relationship is worrisome" - if it was true, it would bother me.

On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if two countries on the U.S. hit list would cooperate after seeing what happened to Iraq. But the idea that an officially Muslim state and an officially atheistic state would have anything but fear of the U.S. in common is laughable. We are constantly told that the Iranian government and population are religious fanatics, yet now we are told they are all cozy with atheists.

[Ian David]

8. Didn't we have an intelligence asset in place to prevent that stuff?

What was her name?

Vallerie... Plame?

What ever happened to her?

[ileus]

14. Birds of a Feather....

Just because I hate Bush doesn't mean I'm going to assume his enemies are my friends.

[Ian David]

19. That's very true, but wasn't my point.

North Korea and Iran wouldn't be sharing all this missile technology if Bush hadn't outed Valerie Plame.

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. The sad and horrible thing about BS like this

is that, given just enough press, it gains presence and credibility among those who will stand behind further warmongering by the BushCo/PNAC neocons, and will give life to the lie via the Interent and various news outlets. Seems once that happens, the national media whores give the lie acknowledgment and exposure, and it all snowballs to hell and back.

:grr: :mad:

[Lerkfish]

10. no, it just snowballs to hell, it never comes back.

:grrr:

[Whoa_Nelly]

16. True enough, Lerkfish

I stand corrected...:o

[Lerkfish]

22. btw, my "grrr" was not for you, but for the situation.

[n2doc]

11. yep, and they were there when Elvis died too

And if you look closely at the Zabruder tape, you can see a couple of them on the grassy knoll in Dallas in 1963.
Those Darn Iranians! If only someone would nuke them back to the stone age:sarcasm:

[Acadia Blue]

13. Beating the war dru;ms is what they do best. War War War

[Virginia Dare]

15. Remember this knee-slapper

Saddam has a nuclear device ready to blow us all to kingdom-come at a moments notice.

[donkeyotay]

17. The propaganda meter got pegged

with the official worry that now they expect Hezbollah to hit us on Mercan soil. Aside from the Iraqi redux, the Osama-Emanuel Goldstein-Zarqari morph into "the terrists are REALLY in Iran, have these assholes in Washington not noticed that after almost 6 years, 100s of billions of dollars, spying, lying, torturing and generally wiping themselves with the Constitution, they have nothing to show for it? They admit that we're still not safe. Dismal fucking failures. All of em.

[MrPrax]

18. Ah the new 'meme'

I was wondering when this one would make it out of the think tanks and above the fold.

First I heard about it was on the Daily Show. When Richard Chang was on promoting his academically sound book: Nuclear Showdown!!!: North Korea Takes On the World!!! His previous academic sounding "The Coming Collapse of China" so far hasn't been correct -- but he's knows he right about North Korea because he is an Asian expert at Stanford, Rice's old stomping grounds.

He mentioned this shit during the interview and this dovetailed nicely to 'hawk' democrat/Stewart's usual contention that the Bush admin is ONLY wrong because it's attacking the wrong country!

[uppityperson]

20. Was Elvis there also? eom

[Radioactive]

21. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Honestley how gullible do they think we are? Who on Earth believes this BS?

[spinbaby]

23. It's all a carefully choreographed dance

That ends when we level the middle east with nukes.

[Supersedeas]

26. and the Media Shills are just-a-shilling (just like with WMD's)

[IndianaGreen]

24. And Iran helped train the 9-11 pilots

Our CIA has no human assets in North Korea, and now suddenly we have an eyewitness that saw 1 or 2 Iranians at a missile launch. And our source's last name is Chalabi.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

28. Yeah, we know they were Iranians becasue....

one of them dropped his passport, and an FIB agent picked it up.

[Tempest]

25. Where was the concern when Pakistan was selling nukes to N.K.?

Instead of prosecuting Khan, Bush allowed him to go free to keep Mushy from getting heat from the Muslim population in Pakistan.

[JackNewtown]

29. No one in the US knew that at the time

Besides, Khan is under house arrest. He is the "father" of Pakistan's nuclear capability. Anything harsher than house arrest would be implausible politically for any Pakistani leader.

[Posteritatis]

27. I witnessed 'em too! Saw 'em on TV! (nt)

[CJCRANE]

30. Who reported this info? Was it "Curveball"?..nt

[HuffleClaw]

31. so ?

who cares if snuffleupagus watched it? lord, their propaganda is soooo desperate.