Posted on 11/19/2006 2:41:41 PM PST by Mr. Brightside
CIA analysis finds no Iranian nuclear weapons drive: report
Sat Nov 18, 11:18 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A classifed draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter has said.
Seymour Hersh, writing in an article for the November 27 issue of the magazine The New Yorker released in advance, reported on whether the administration of Republican President George W. Bush was more, or less, inclined to attack Iran after Democrats won control of Congress last week.
A month before the November 7 legislative elections, Hersh wrote, Vice President Dick Cheney attended a national-security discussion that touched on the impact of Democratic victory in both chambers on Iran policy.
"If the Democrats won on November 7th, the vice president said, that victory would not stop the administration from pursuing a military option with Iran," Hersh wrote, citing a source familiar with the discussion.
Cheney said the White House would circumvent any legislative restrictions "and thus stop Congress from getting in its way," he said.
The Democratic victory unleashed a surge of calls for the Bush administration to begin direct talks with Iran.
But the administration's planning of a military option was made "far more complicated" in recent months by a highly classified draft assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency "challenging the White House's assumptions about how close Iran might be to building a nuclear bomb," he wrote.
"The CIA found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear-weapons program running paallel to the civilian operations that Iran has declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency," Hersh wrote, adding the CIA had declined to comment on that story.
A current senior intelligence official confirmed the existence of the CIA analysis and said the White House had been hostile to it, he wrote.
Cheney and his aides had discounted the assessment, the official said.
"They're not looking for a smoking gun," the official was quoted as saying, referring to specific intelligence about Iranian nuclear planning.
"They're looking for the degree of comfort level they think they need to accomplish the mission."
The United States and other major powers believe Iran's uranium enrichment program is ultimately aimed at producing fissile material for nuclear weapons.
Iran insists it will use the enriched uranium only to fuel nuclear power stations, something it is permitted to do as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The major powers have been debating a draft United Nations resolution drawn up by Britain, France and Germany that would impose limited sanctions on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile sectors for Tehran's failure to comply with an earlier UN resolution on halting enrichment.
On Wednesday, Israel's outgoing US ambassador Danny Ayalon said in an interview that Bush would not hesitate to use force against Iran to halt its nuclear program if other options failed.
"US President George W. Bush will not hesitate to use force against Iran in order to halt its nuclear program," Ayalon told the Maariv daily.
Israel, widely considered the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, views Iran as its arch-foe, pointing to repeated calls by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe the Jewish state off the map.
Of course the leaker should go to jail but that's another story.
I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!
It's NOT that I don't believe the story - it's the "leak".
What the H*ll is going on with the Federal Government?
It USED TO BE that revealing classified information resulted in being prosecuted/convicted/and locked up!
Can anyone say "treason"? Can anyone in government understand the phrase "giving aid and comfort to the enemy"!
It's high-time the government get tough, EXTREMELY TOUGH on what the liberals and MSM call "leaks".
"Cheney said the White House would circumvent any legislative restrictions 'and thus stop Congress from getting in its way,' he said"
This is exactly what it will take; the resolve of men and women like Vice President Cheney!
Nancee
The key point that Hersh is missing is that we cannot allow Iran to develop the capability to build nuclear weapons even if we're not sure about their intent to actually build and use bombs. If Iran gains that capability then it becomes extremely risky to take action to stop them from building or using nuclear weapons because we would not be sure that they don't already have them. So capability is the key red line that we can't allow them to cross. Hersh needs to step away from his computer and take a long weekend just to think about this issue and the very real potential for a nuclear-armed Iran to launch a catastrophic attack on Israel, Europe, or America. I'm puzzled by the kind of simplistic, emotional thought processes going on inside Hersh's mind.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.