Footnote to the preceding

Our Only President has backhandedly confirmed Hersh's charges:

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday he would not rule out military action against Iran if that country was not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear weapons program.

"I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table," Bush said in an interview with NBC News when asked if he would rule out the potential for military action against Iran "if it continues to stonewall the international community about the existence of its nuclear weapons program."

Another point here is that I wonder about that second paragraph. Was the quote, as the sentence indicates, actually what he was asked? Did the reporter actually assert as fact that Iran is "stonewalling" about its "nuclear weapons program," thus swallowing and regurgitating the White House line as if it was established, unquestionable fact? What I assume - and hope - is that the sentence is merely poorly written and that the quote actually was Bush's response, which would simply be repeating what he's been saying all along.

This is not, by the way, to say there are not serious questions about Iran's programs and intentions. Is it to say that it is (or at least should be) journalistically unacceptable for a reporter to repeat White House PR as a question.