Fool Me Once …

The Alleged Assassination Plot in the USA

Ever since the spurious justification for invading Iraq, America’s credibility has suffered. All the more reason why the contradictory stories about this supposed Iranian assassination plot are already attracting doubters and conspiracy theorists. As a result, any demand for new sanctions may become a problem.

The United States has a problem: Since former Secretary of State Colin Powell went before the U.N. Security Council citing false intelligence reports of biological weapons labs as justification for invading Iraq, the country’s credibility has been damaged. That’s no secret, even in Washington.

Even more curious is the fact that the U.S. government has yet to come out with a unified story about the plot against the Saudi ambassador or at least address the many open questions about this sensationally strange case. That’s an open invitation to conspiracy theorists, since Attorney General Eric Holder has indicated that the widely publicized charges against Manssor Arbabsiar do not provide a complete picture of the conspiracy.

That may not be an impediment to prosecuting the case, but if Washington seeks to impose new sanctions on Iran, it must also reveal the entire picture with whatever imperfections it may contain. It won’t suffice to call in a couple of diplomats from allied countries, even if the intelligence services think there may be valid reasons to remain as uncommunicative as possible.

Whether the rest of the world will see further sanctions against Tehran as legitimate depends on whether the United States is able to make a convincing case that high levels of the Iranian government were involved in the conspiracy. If America wants to be capable of acting, it cannot afford to allow its credibility to be called into question again.