Norman Podhoretz takes note of some questions about it:
…I entertain an even darker suspicion. It is that the intelligence community, which has for some years now been leaking material calculated to undermine George W. Bush, is doing it again. This time the purpose is to head off the possibility that the President may order air strikes on the Iranian nuclear installations. As the intelligence community must know, if he were to do so, it would be as a last resort, only after it had become undeniable that neither negotiations nor sanctions could prevent Iran from getting the bomb, and only after being convinced that it was very close to succeeding. How better, then, to stop Bush in his tracks than by telling him and the world that such pressures have already been effective and that keeping them up could well bring about “a halt to Iran’s entire nuclear weapons program”—especially if the negotiations and sanctions were combined with a goodly dose of appeasement or, in the NIE’s own euphemistic formulation, “with opportunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regional influence in other ways.”
Me, too; I haven’t read the actual NIE, but it is reported that while the NIE is highly confident that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Iran continues to enrich a sort of uranium which is really only useful in a nuclear weapons program. In technical terms, to say something like that is known as bullsh**. Its like saying that the illegals have stopped trying to cross the border, but are still digging that tunnel under the fence…
Someone at State and/or CIA is merely trying to undercut the President’s stated policy of not allowing Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Yet another lesson in the absolute necessity of any future GOP Administration to fire each and every person hired or promoted by a previous Democratic Administration. Aside from that, I don’t think this NIE will amount to a hill of beans as far as President Bush is concerned – it won’t be an NIE which decides what to do about Iran, but President Bush after carefully weighing all the available data.
Blogs For Victory 
I really don’t think the NIE even knows what is going on. Also, the timing seems a bit suspect. This just popped up on Drudge:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/12/nie_an_abrupt_aboutface.asp
In the article, the following snippet appears:
“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.” (The New York Sun drew attention to one of Fingar’s colleagues yesterday.)”
Now, will any of you liberals at least entertain the notion that the release of this report was at least partly motivated by politics and BDS?
Eric, I agree. The only reason anyone would claim that Iran ceased its nuclear program is to derail President Bush’s plan to invade Iran. I mean even if Iran did cease its program that is not in our interests to disclose as it makes it more difficult to invade. Why would people disclose information not in the country’s interest? Surely it must be blind hatred of President Bush.
Kirk,
You didn’t answer my question. Do you consider Christ the Prince of Evil?
Casper,
I did answer your question. Christ is not the “Prince of Peace”. Quite obviously I don’t think He’s evil. When Judgment Day comes He will take all those whom committed blasphemy against Him and rip their hearts from their chests before throwing them into the lake of fire. Food for thought.
I just got back from checking out Kirk’s blog. If you haven’t done so yet, you really need to. His July 28, 2007 entry is, well… unbelievable. Lest you have any doubt when he says, “The real kicker is that I didn’t even know Samuel was with his mom. I just assumed that he decided to go out on his own and make something of himself. Needless to say I am disappointed that my own son hasn’t learned something called personal responsibility and would rather cling to his mother than be a man.” check out the comments, too. The kid is six years old.
Rico,
Just When i thought I’d heard everything. Wow.
“and, meanwhile, even this NIE says that Iran continues to enrich uranium which is generally only useful for a weapons program”
Keep spinning Marky. There isn’t much room for alternative interpretations there. You’re careful wording (generally only?) doesn’t change what you were clearly trying to imply. That the evidence shows Iran has to be enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. After all it’s “generally only” useful for a weapons program right?
What you were implying was VERY clear Marky. It was also completely baseless uninformed drivel. Something I’ve grown quite accustomed to reading this site.
What do you think about the Russians/ U.S.A/ and French running the power plant for the Iranians so they don’t have access to the enriched uranium
markadelic
nice….you really blogaliciously lit it up in here
glad you bumped the subject back up
congrats!
Eric T,
Actually not a bad idea. If the Iranians truly just need the power and aren’t looking for a bomb, how could they object. If they object, we know they are looking for more.
One of the unexamined assumptions in the anxiety over Iran’s uranium enrichment is that it is a prelude to building bombs. However, obtaining a sufficiently large quantity of fissionable material is only one of the significant technical hurdles to producing a functional nuclear warhead. It is far more than stuffing a lot of uranium in a metal box and dropping it somewhere. If that were the case, then nuclear power plants would explode all the time.
In order to produce a bomb, the highly radioactive enriched uranium has to be machined to extremely high tolerances into a set of components. These components must fit together very precisely but be held apart while sitting inside the warhead. Then, they must be interlaced with a properly designed set of conventional high explosives that can, with extremely precise timing, detonate and compress the fissionable material together with just the right force and at just the right angles. If everything works precisely, then the resultant chain-reaction will be so rapid that the result will be an explosion rather than a very hot pile of liquid metal.
Only a few people in the world have the mathematics down to design reliable nuclear warheads and, even then, any new design is never assumed to work until it has either been tested in the real world or highly-classified simulations have been run on supercomputers with enough power to crunch the necessary numbers.
mullah cimoc say ameriki intel agencies the mass insubordiantion against him president bush for to stop the WWIII.
israeli spy neocons and israel intel agent him try to start WWIII base on one more big lying but usa bureaucracy not accept. now pres. bush not have the power because leave office soon. bureaucrat not the fear of president bush regime.
this example of israeli spy in whitehouse and pentagon control usa but instead silent revolution?. this the very import develop for usa people the live free of control by master in tel aviv.
google: mighty wurlitzer +cia
is true: usa media most biggest enemy of ameriki people.
EricT – it’s been offered and rejected multiple times.
Diana Powe,
I would like to welcome you to this blog. I have been very impressed with your articulate and well thought out posts. I hope you stay around for a while.
Gee Diane Powe, it appears you’re talking out your ass again…ROFLMAO!
Nice cut-n-paste libtard!
This none sentence shows your ignorance: “Only a few people in the world have the mathematics down to design reliable nuclear warheads….”
Ummm, I personally can name at least twenty…how about you libtard?
navydad ,
Ok, name them.
Casper
Although DP comes up with some pretty interesting arguments sometimes, when she makes statement such as her last post….you really can’t take her seriously…now can you?
Yes Mark I have read it. The whole thing that is publically available is only 9 pages and it has a long general introduction.
I cannot understand how you can form an opinion of a document without even bothering to read it. you really have no excuse – it is short, it is written in simple terms (no legaliese) , and its very straight forward. I think I understand why you didn’t read it – because it is literally irrelevant to YOU what it says as to what you think we should do. If it had said that they were continuing there efforts you would have screamed – see we have to attack them or they will get nukes and kill us all – thank god for bush. If it says they are not perusing it and are at least a decade away (even if they were actively) – then you say oh – god bless bush – but they could restart it and they are crazy so we have to attack.
So its literally irrelevant to you what it actually says. Because you have already made up your mind – that no matter what – we have to attack them. Doesn’t that bother you – that facts are so irrelevant to you that you don’t even go bother to read a simple few pages before ranting and raving about them?
It seems rather sad…
“Yet another lesson in the absolute necessity of any future GOP Administration to fire each and every person hired or promoted by a previous Democratic Administration.”
In other words, the FEMA-zation of our intel services.
I hear Brownie is in search of a job. Maybe he can direct the CIA. After all, our intel services are merely there to support the political whims of the President – right?
Casper, let’s start with Jack Dorr…ex-plant mgr. of the Rocky Flats plant.
So Casper, do you believe there are only a few people in the world that have the math down to design and engineer a nuke war head? I thought you were smarter than this.
navydad,
To be honest, I don’t know 20 people who can design reliable nuclear warheads. I do have a feeling that there are probably more out there than a few.
I could turn the problem over to a few of my current or former students, but I’m afraid they might come up with something even more powerful ( I have had some scary smart kids) . Not sure I want to go there.
Here’s a blast from the past Casper…Jack Yoblin. MIT grad, president of Precision Forge (1980-1989).
Yeah DP, only a few in the world…right!!
Don’t ya just hate it when someone actually provides some facts!
navydad,
I never said you were wrong. I just askled for some names.
My point Casper, is that when someone makes a statement like DP has in her last post that comes across as fact, when in fact, it is false, leads me to believe she’s living in her own little world and believes everything she writes.
What concerns me more is that you believe her.