Posted on 12/05/2007 12:47:20 PM PST by HD1200
As many recognize, the latest NIE on Iran’s nuclear weapons program directly contradicts what the U.S. Intelligence Community was saying just two years previously. And it appears that this about-face was very recent. How recent?
Consider that on July 11, 2007, roughly four or so months prior to the most recent NIE’s publication, Deputy Director of Analysis Thomas Fingar gave the following testimony before the House Armed Services Committee (emphasis added):
Iran and North Korea are the states of most concern to us. The United States’ concerns about Iran are shared by many nations, including many of Iran’s neighbors. Iran is continuing to pursue uranium enrichment and has shown more interest in protracting negotiations and working to delay and diminish the impact of UNSC sanctions than in reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution. We assess that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons--despite its international obligations and international pressure. This is a grave concern to the other countries in the region whose security would be threatened should Iran acquire nuclear weapons.
This paragraph appeared under the subheading: "Iran Assessed As Determined to Develop Nuclear Weapons." And the entirety of Fingar’s 22-page testimony was labeled "Information as of July 11, 2007." No part of it is consistent with the latest NIE, in which our spooks tell us Iran suspended its covert nuclear weapons program in 2003 "primarily in response to international pressure" and they "do not know whether (Iran) currently intends to develop nuclear weapons."
The inconsistencies are more troubling when we realize that, according to the Wall Street Journal, Thomas Fingar is one of the three officials who were responsible for crafting the latest NIE. The Journal cites "an intelligence source" as describing Fingar and his two colleagues as "hyper-partisan anti-Bush officials."
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
YES! A VERY DISTURBING TURN AROUND.
How does a president who is villified by ultra-partisan intelligence operatives get a handle on this?
How is a Congress controlled by the ultra-partisan Democrats ever do a serious investigation into this?
I’d like to see a Republican elected who will purge the government bureaucracy of all these worthless people who live on the taxpayer’s dime.
Most of the time, there are three people doing the work of one. Almost all of them vote democrat.
As has been pointed out, something has changed. What, or who, changed it? Is this change the truth or is it the usual Bush hating operatives at work?
bump
Its another State Department outrage. Condi couldn’t clean house. Bolton might have, had he been put in the job...
It will have the effect of making it much harder for Bush to conduct his foreign policy in respect to Iran, which may be the whole point of issuing the findings they reached.
Career Clintonistas at State and DOD have spent the past seven years sabotaging Bush. And he’s stood still for it.
Read “Sabotage” by Rowan Scarborough. It will make your blood boil but you will see the exact actions that these partisans in the State Dept and CIA are taking to backstab Bush and our foreign policy. This NIE is no surprise considering what they’ve been doing for the last 6 years.
For instance, how many people in America have ever heard the contents of an NIE prior to the last three years. Now, they get leaked to the NYT prior to their release to the White House and Bush basically has to release the contents in order to disprove that mornings above-the-fold headlines.
“hyper-partisan anti-bush officials at work?”
no!!! that’s impossible.
Ping. More developments...and dots to connect.
I’m thinking Iran stopped work in 2003, the question is:
Did they restart? I think the answer is yes, I’m leaning on Israel’s take here.
Did you (or anyone) hear the excellent caller on Rush’s show? She seemed to have an intelligence background - I didn’t hear all of the call, unfortunately, but she made some excellent points.
I’ve been following this today. The current take that this NIE report was a partisan hack job is the current theory de jour and I admit I was caught off guard. I continually under estimate the Bush haters out there and just how politicized the intel community really is. Color me naive I guess, even after all I’ve seen.
If Iran halted it's nuclear weapons program, shouldn't the date by which we think they could attain a nuclear weapon be being pushed out each year since they aren't making progress toward that goal?
However, the dates by which they think Iran could have a nuclear weapon have remained the same as they were two years ago when the report suggested that Iran had a very active nuclear weapons program.
So the report is saying that they have made as much progress as they thought they would with an active program, but at the same time the haven't had an active program for 4 years.
That is a obvious, glaring contradiction.
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