Nobody owning up to US-Iran talks story
posted at 2:31 pm on October 21, 2012 by Jazz Shaw
If you’re one of the people who tend to spend their Saturday nights hanging out at Hot Air, (and let’s face it… why wouldn’t you?) you already know that we raised a few questions about a New York Times story claiming that Iran had agreed to some unilateral nuclear talks with the United States. That story in the Paper of Record still doesn’t appear to contain any updates or corrections, but the response from both sides of the world has been the same. Nobody is willing to back up their reporting.
First up, Iran.
“We don’t have any discussions or negotiations with America,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in a news conference on Sunday. “The (nuclear) talks are ongoing with the P5+1 group of nations. Other than that, we have no discussions with the United States.”
The White House, for once, seemed to be on the same page with somebody else. (Even if it was Iran.)
The Obama administration has moved quickly to water down a report that the US and Iran have agreed in principle to meet one-on-one for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme…
However the National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in response that the United States would continue to work with fellow permanent members of the UN security council and Germany.
“It’s not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections,” the statement said.
So what happened? There seem to be a few possibilities for us to bat around while we watch football today. (And even though Ed didn’t take sides on it, I’m not holding out much hope for the Jets today, sorry.)
Theory 1: The story is true, but the actors on both sides don’t want to jinx it by bringing it out in public until the plan ripens a bit, so they’re denying it for now. (Yeah, yeah… I know. But we’re trying to cover the full spectrum here.)
Theory 2: The story is garbage, but the New York Times was misled by an Iranian activist trying to kick-start the process.
Theory 3: The story is garbage, but the New York Times was misled by an Obama administration official who wanted to plant a seed to make it look like the President’s foreign policy platform isn’t a complete shambles right before the foreign policy debate.
Theory 4: The story is utter, complete, and journalistic libelous garbage created out of whole cloth by the New York Times in an effort to make the President look more effective on foreign policy.
None of these theories look very pretty, and I’m open to others that I haven’t thought of yet. Either way, barring somebody coming forward to give up the goods, we’re left to speculate. And speculate we shall! Ready? Go.
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Bishop
HICON on May 16, 2013 at 7:57 PM
It’s all about the agenda Sharyl.
Rovin on May 16, 2013 at 7:59 PM
Translation: If this had been a Republican president, they’d have piled on.
de rigueur on May 16, 2013 at 7:59 PM
How about natural curiosity from someone with a modicum of common sense?
arnold ziffel on May 16, 2013 at 8:02 PM
Way to a Pulitzer: Stating the obvious.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:02 PM
Well, it’s mostly because they can’t see out of the tank. No windows.
JimK on May 16, 2013 at 8:04 PM
They wouldn’t have any problem whatsoever getting a 501(c)4 application approved by the IRS, though.
You know I’m right.
Hell, for all I know, they may already be one.
Curtiss on May 16, 2013 at 8:07 PM
A bit OT, but nothing we really didn’t suspect.
I hate these people !!
http://combatveteransforcongress.org/story/sealteam-six-flight-extortion-17-were-denied-pre-assault-suppression-fire-going
pambi on May 16, 2013 at 8:09 PM
So Hussein still wants us to look at the cover-up and video BS ,
while no one asks him –
” WHO the F ordered the stand down and WHY ?”
burrata on May 16, 2013 at 8:09 PM
I wonder what Dear Leader henceman have done to Sharyl..? I bet they’ve monitored eveything she’s done in months…
d1carter on May 16, 2013 at 8:10 PM
Sharyl to be audited in 3, 2, 1 . . .
rbj on May 16, 2013 at 8:11 PM
You know, I’ve noticed the same thing about any number of trolls here…..
There Goes the Neighborhood on May 16, 2013 at 8:11 PM
We’ve had four plus years with no watchdog…we’re seeing the results.
d1carter on May 16, 2013 at 8:12 PM
This is as absurd as wondering aloud why Goebbels always seemed to be biased towards Hitler.
Buddahpundit on May 16, 2013 at 8:15 PM
One of our trolls this morning claimed that the email chain was a result of interagency turf wars. Ha ha! As if Nuland was engaging CIA and FBI in an intel turf war.
blink on May 16, 2013 at 8:16 PM
I like her!
KCB on May 16, 2013 at 8:18 PM
Yeah, but…You’re perpetually horny.
Never be fooled by a pretty face.
(just ribbing you)
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:20 PM
Why not bomb them and make them all die? It’s not a rhetorical question. There might be good reasons not to bomb them that I’m too stupid to comprehend, so I hope to learn.
Buddahpundit on May 16, 2013 at 8:20 PM
Resist We Much on May 16, 2013 at 8:20 PM
She is pretty….
KCB on May 16, 2013 at 8:21 PM
In the Retarded Sukarno Knock-off’s criminal rule, spin IS intel.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 16, 2013 at 8:21 PM
And America cares what this hack thinks because?
Look sweetie, if you need a job on Fox News, just go ahead and apply there. They can use another bimbo who likes to show her legs and regurgitate RNC talking points.
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 8:23 PM
Got the abc IRS Obamacare link.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/irs-official-in-charge-during-tea-party-targeting-now-runs-health-care-office/
sort by best comment and look at the likes on the first comment.
It’s changing in realtime. IT’s at 2900+ now but its climbing fast. up – now 3000+
This is the comment.
“Obama needs to be impeached. Up vote if you agree.”
BoxHead1 on May 16, 2013 at 8:23 PM
Another question that Levin brought up on his show…
Why was the Deputy Director of the CIA working with two low level oval office employees to craft the talking points…Why was a staffer on Rice’s UN Department involved and who were they?
workingclass artist on May 16, 2013 at 8:24 PM
I really like her. It’s nice to not know how a supposed journalist leans politically, a throwback to the ‘just the facts, ma’am’ era. She seems to play it straight, investigates regardless of who occupies the Oval Office…a vanishing breed, needless to say.
changer1701 on May 16, 2013 at 8:24 PM
Sharyl Attkisson on Benghazi: “The media’s not always consistent in the vigor that they use to pursue a given topic”
No WAY!
Really? I hadn’t noticed.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 8:24 PM
She is pretty….
KCB on May 16, 2013 at 8:21 PM
Eh, clam up! ;)
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 8:25 PM
…well no!…in the MSM mind!
KOOLAID2 on May 16, 2013 at 8:25 PM
Pathetic. And sexist.
MikeknaJ on May 16, 2013 at 8:26 PM
Cuda already covered this topic..long ago.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 8:27 PM
Pathetic. And sexist.
MikeknaJ on May 16, 2013 at 8:26 PM
That was mild compared to his constant posts on blow jobs and moms giving them..
oh and trailer trash daughters.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 8:28 PM
Thread winner!
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:29 PM
burrata on May 16, 2013 at 8:29 PM
…BlowMe!
KOOLAID2 on May 16, 2013 at 8:30 PM
But is she the kind of person you’d want to introduce to your adult children?
Standards…Gotta keep the standards.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:30 PM
LOL
You’re just cheesed and jealous, because there isn’t a liberal female who is an attractive woman.
And you take yourself seriously? What the devil do you think is so GREAT about YOU?
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:32 PM
He needs daily lessons/reminders.
Never forget who we’re stuck with here.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:34 PM
Because it’s ALL about Obama, ALL the time. The Chosen One must be protected. And that includes his underlings who he picked to hold office.
GarandFan on May 16, 2013 at 8:35 PM
With her work on F&F and Benghazi, when you compare with her peers, she is deserving. And if you follow her work, this article shows she is being muzzled by SeeBS.
hillsoftx on May 16, 2013 at 8:35 PM
You would muck up your own funeral.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:35 PM
Nothing sexist in my comment. She is a wannabe RNC hack. What else do you want me to say?
If she wants a job on Fox News, apply there. They are on 6th Avenue in Manhattan; a few blocks from Central Park. No need to audition in front of everyone.
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 8:36 PM
You may well be right, and I wouldn’t presume to debate you after reading you for so long.
I simply consider her intertwined with this occasion to be mere aberration.
I need time and further evidence, when it comes to liberals and media hacks.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:38 PM
It is best, when the air tank reaches zero, to come up from the bottom…
ajacksonian on May 16, 2013 at 8:38 PM
…like you do!…every day…for the dumbphuck of the year award?
KOOLAID2 on May 16, 2013 at 8:39 PM
“I’m leaving HotAir, never to return.”
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:39 PM
We’ll trade you straight up—you get Shepard Smith and because we are generous, will also toss in Bill O’ Reilly for a journalist to be named later.
hillsoftx on May 16, 2013 at 8:39 PM
Not a question you should ask here.
Curtiss on May 16, 2013 at 8:39 PM
It’s all good.
hillsoftx on May 16, 2013 at 8:41 PM
HAL needs a daisy cutter used on him.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:41 PM
…D A I S Y !
KOOLAID2 on May 16, 2013 at 8:41 PM
I’m just an extreme cynic. On occasion, liberals get a glimmer of better things. Soon, though, they revert back to their liberalism.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:43 PM
I always find it amusing when we stumble upon a liberal journalist who for some odd reason missed the class on goose stepping in college.
dddave on May 16, 2013 at 8:44 PM
You think Fox News will give up Billy the Clown? His show is their primary money maker you know.
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Realistically — What is so great and experienced about YOU, that you come in here to lecture us?
By your own admission, you don’t come here to change minds. So, obviously, you come just to make a peaceful place as uncomfortable as possible.
That’s a lot of spite in you, isn’t it?
You condemn us all the time, never having been Conservative. Many of us, however, have been liberal.
We’re not the extremists here. You are.
There is something seriously and horribly wrong with you.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:47 PM
“You people were right all along, I am a douchebag.”
Bishop on May 16, 2013 at 8:48 PM
There is something serious emotionally twisted about a person who obsesses over a lousy TV station and one of its shows.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:49 PM
Unlike you, who is stilling claiming that the White House and State Department didn’t change the talking points.
Talk about a hack.
Resist We Much on May 16, 2013 at 8:51 PM
Good one!
Curtiss on May 16, 2013 at 8:52 PM
Liberals consider themselves an ‘event’. Therefor, they’re always looking for a place to ‘happen’.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:53 PM
Re: Joscelyn
That’s not the full story about who was involved and why.
I was actually working on a docu right before Benghazi, and was reading about the planning for the 9/11 protest from Egyptian blogs.
I said it here at the time – Barry is covering up for what the protest was about, namely a pressure tactic on Morsi.
budfox on May 16, 2013 at 8:53 PM
There is something seriously and horribly wrong with you.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:47 PM
Understatement.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 8:54 PM
Oh, something along the lines of, “I don’t really have facts to discuss here, and you people recognize the regurgitated talking points I always post, so I’m done posting on HotAir since I really have nothing positive to contribute”.
/Nice, succinct, and accurate.
/Oh, and make sure you actually follow up and do so
AZfederalist on May 16, 2013 at 8:55 PM
hal is a young,twisted,angry little pervert.
simple.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 8:56 PM
Gallup: 74% Of Americans Want IRS Scandal Investigated Further
69% Want Benghazi Follow Up…
http://shar.es/Zs4Wf
Resist We Much on May 16, 2013 at 8:57 PM
How about goodbye.
BeachBum on May 16, 2013 at 8:57 PM
The legacy media, with some exceptions, is like a beaten wife who refuses either to leave her abuser or to press charges against him.
BLOC on May 16, 2013 at 8:58 PM
I know. I simply did a summation.
There’s a lot of hate, spite, and fury in HAL.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:58 PM
Iowahawk too generous…
fify
: )
Carry on…
workingclass artist on May 16, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 8:58 PM
I know..Liam.
people like him are easy to figure out. They think they are so deep and complex..they are transparent, really.
I posted a piss pic for you..NFL player..I lol’d think on CNN thread.
Getting lost in all these news explosions.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 9:03 PM
FIFY
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 9:05 PM
Shouldn’t you be at a cub scout meeting looking for a date?
BeachBum on May 16, 2013 at 9:09 PM
“Goodbye, cruel world.”
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 16, 2013 at 9:10 PM
I see the Hammersmith babe is making stuff up as usual. When did i ever make any comment about changing talking points? If you think i give a d@mn about some DC inside baseball talking points, you definitely do not know me.
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 9:10 PM
I’m into Allen Wests pigment.
Strong and dark.
Ummmmmm.
bazil9 on May 16, 2013 at 9:13 PM
The operative phrase is “natural journalists.”
A “talking head” can in no way equate to being a professional journalist.
EdmundBurke247 on May 16, 2013 at 9:13 PM
-_-
ROFL
It’s like Pelosi sent out word or something.
Bishop on May 16, 2013 at 9:14 PM
Yea. Gallup also predicted a Romney landslide. Wonder where that President Romney is?
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 9:15 PM
Journalists aren’t supposed to be “curious” in this day and time ….. they’re suppose to be conducting a propaganda war, against anything or anyone, that would impede progress towards a socialist, one-world government … period.
listens2glenn on May 16, 2013 at 9:23 PM
I meant what I said.
YOU, on the other hand, need justification for your…Well, for whatever is wrong with you.
And there’s really and realistically a lot wrong with you, HAL.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 9:24 PM
.
I’d settle for you accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
listens2glenn on May 16, 2013 at 9:25 PM
In his self-presumed ‘individuality’, HAL is a cookie-cutter liberal.
Worse, he’s one of the truly-crazy ones.
He’s so full of anger and spite, he doesn’t know what to do with it.
Can any woman imagine being married to a guy like HAL? If he’s like this here, imagine the hell he must be to live with in reality.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Nothing sexist, except you demean her down to a pair of legs and call her a bimbo based upon… what exactly? Do you have some sort of evidence of galling sexual behavior on her part to share with us all? What does any of this have to do with her journalistic skills?
War on women.
Plus, you call her a “hack”… why exactly? Just because she isn’t afraid to dig for a story that happens to cross a politician who you root for? Is that how you define “hack?”
MikeknaJ on May 16, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Actually, he’s pretty easy in real life. He spends most of his time sucking his thumb.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 16, 2013 at 9:31 PM
Attkisson looks a lot different now than she did in the late 80s at the local Tampa CBS affiliate.
I’d like to find a picture of her from back then.
jaime on May 16, 2013 at 9:34 PM
Already have. I’m probably more christian than anyone here.
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 9:35 PM
I wouldn’t be surprised.
Yet, he slithers in here to lecture us.
If he’s the best the Left has to offer — and he thinks he is — we really have nothing to worry about.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 9:36 PM
Yes, I suspected that as evidenced by your sexist attacks on women who you happen to disagree with politically.
MikeknaJ on May 16, 2013 at 9:37 PM
That proves right there that you lie. Satan can say he’s ‘more Christian’ than any man, because he knows the Bible better than mere mortal could. And even Satan doesn’t get God’s point.
So, you lie.
As a Cristian, if any pastor says, “I’m more Christian than you,” I’m getting up from my seat and leaving that church for good.
You not only have no idea what it means to be Conservative, you also know nothing about Christianity or the Judaism from which Christianity is born.
You’re really more in need of professional help than I first thought.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 9:41 PM
I define a hack as someone who tries to claim impartiality while having a partisan agenda. No one outside of the right wing is taking this lady seriously. That is why i suggested she apply for work on Fox News. They probably pay very well. Ask former CNN employees Ed Henry and John Roberts..
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 9:41 PM
Thank you for the lecture O Christian Conservative.
HotAirLib on May 16, 2013 at 9:44 PM
CNN, CBS, NBC,
William Eaton on May 16, 2013 at 9:47 PM
You’re most welcome, lying-about-being-Christian liberal!
You’re the original barrel of monkeys that nothing is more fun than.
Liam on May 16, 2013 at 9:50 PM
Why are you here? You’re whorible.
jaime on May 16, 2013 at 9:51 PM
HotAirLib = YAWN
Like watching a Gilligans Island rerun.
scalleywag on May 16, 2013 at 9:53 PM
How long until she is working at Fox? You know that is the only place where such “blasphemy” is allowed.
fight like a girl on May 16, 2013 at 10:17 PM
HAL’s definition of hackery (courtesy of Wikipedia):
kim roy on May 16, 2013 at 10:31 PM
elgeneralisimo’s inner pessimist would say that things never work out well for the
member of the pressStepford wife who asks too many questions…elgeneralisimo on May 16, 2013 at 10:34 PM
Scott wants him for Lt. Governor of Florida
Made your day huh?
workingclass artist on May 16, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Yeah, thanks for posting that. I see HAL’s point now – what an unprofessional hack who clearly is taken seriously by no one except wingnuts.
MikeknaJ on May 16, 2013 at 10:46 PM
There was a CNN interview with Mohammed al Zawahiri the day before the Benghazi attack
J_Crater on May 16, 2013 at 11:01 PM
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