Official: Bush refused Iranian offer to talk; Condi lied when she claimed she did not know of such

Bush wants us to believe he has not made up his mind to attack Iran.

Bullshit. His mind was made up years ago. Cheney's staff has already

let it slip that 2007 is "the year of Iran."

Former Bush National Security Council official also says Rice likely

lied about not seeing document

Former Bush National Security Council official Flynt Leverett,

speaking on Wednesday at a forum held by the New America Foundation,

told a crowd in a Senate office building that in 2003 then-Secretary

of State Colin Powell received a "grand bargain" offer from Iran and

was rebuffed by the White House, RAW STORY can reveal.

"I know as a fact from multiple sources this went all the way up to

Secretary Powell," Leverett said, citing multiple sources at the State

Department and the NSC. "In [secretary Powell's] words, he 'couldn't

sell it at the White House.'"

Leverett said the letter was also delivered to the National Security

Council. Rice told Congress last week that she'd never seen it.

"The document went over to the NSC" and "it is unthinkable" that it

wouldn't have gone to then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice,

Leverett asserted. "She owes Congress an apology for saying she had

not seen the document."

"The statements she is making before Congress are not true," Leverett

added, noting that Rice almost certainly "knows" they aren't true.

Leverett, who served as the senior director for Middle East affairs on

the National Security Council from March 2002 to March 2003, added

that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was probably lying when she

said she had not seen the offer Iran made, which was channeled through

Tim Guldimann, the Swiss ambassador to Iran. The Washington Post

printed a pdf of the offer in today's online edition of the paper.

Guldimann told U.S. officials in 2003 that an Iranian proposal for

comprehensive talks had been approved by Iran's supreme religious

leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then-President Mohammad Khatami, and

then-Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, according to a copy of the cover

letter to the Iranian document obtained by the Post.

Yesterday, the State Department played down the significance of Iran's

offer.

"This document did not come through official channels but rather was a

creative exercise on the part of the Swiss ambassador," State

Department spokesman Tom Casey told the Post. "The last 30 years are

filled with examples of individuals claiming to represent Iranian

views. We have offered to Iran a chance to sit across the table from

us and discuss their nuclear issue and anything else they would like,

should they simply, verifiably suspend their uranium-enrichment

activities."

But Leverett disagreed with that interpretation. "It was a serious

proposal," Leverett said, "It was not vague."

He went on to defend the Swiss ambassador, saying that Guldimann "was

not some flake off the street," but rather, "a serious official" who

was doing his job.

More background on Iran's 2003 offer is available at the Post. The

story was printed on page A14 of the paper.

http://www.rawstory.com//news/2007/Powell_tried_to_push_Iran_talks_0214.html