Iran "isn't trying to build a nuclear bomb"

4Dec/077

US intelligence agencies undercut the White House yesterday by disclosing for the first time that Iran has not been pursuing a nuclear weapons development programme for the past four years. The secret report, which was declassified yesterday and published, marked a significant shift from previous estimates. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons programme suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," it said.

In a startling admission from an administration that regularly portrays Iran as the biggest threat to the Middle East and the world, the NIE said: "We do not know whether [Iran] currently intends to develop nuclear weapons." That contradicts the assessment two years ago that baldly stated that Tehran was "determined to develop nuclear weapons". [The Guardian]

Oh shit, looks like we'll have to find another reason for bombing the fragile democracy. It's worth noting that The Guardian (so called 'far left' by plenty of Americans with no centre to their political spectrum) has been actively involved in disseminating anti-Iran propaganda of late. Julian Borger, the paper's diplomatic editor, recently wrote a very unusual story which completely misrepresented the contents of the IAEA's last report into Iran. Specifically, he mentioned that a nuclear warhead could be put together 'in one year', a claim that was mentioned nowhere in the IAEA's report. Suspicious that he had been 'briefed' (or 'prepped') by some sort of government official, I wrote to him to ask him about his source for the claim. No response, as yet, but one thing is clear: his source wasn't the IAEA report.

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Tagged as: diplomatic editor, government official, Islamic Republic of Iran, Julian Borger, Middle East, Tehran, the Guardian, White House Leave a comment

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Nick
December 4th, 2007 - 17:58
Sounds like Bush is "goin' in anyway":
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7127198.stm
It's so crazy how the tiny group of neo-cons that have got a stranglehold on the American government are at war with their own intelligence services. It was the same with Iraq when the CIA kept coming back with blanks over WMD's.
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Neil
December 4th, 2007 - 18:50
I think you have slightly misunderstood the NIE report Tom.
http://tinyurl.com/yrrca8
quotes from the above link:
Mr Bush said an intelligence report released on Monday was a "warning sign" and his view that a nuclear Iran would be a danger "hasn't changed"
and
"Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the know-how to make a nuclear weapon,"
So you see, the report is actually all the justification that one needs. None of this finding reasons malarky is required. Iran was and is dangerous. Mr Bush has just told us so. All that one needs now is for someone to discover that Iran has the know-how… (Note that the ability to actually make nuclear arms is now obsolete: mere possession of certain scientific knowledge will make them dangerous. Apparently)
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Tom
December 4th, 2007 - 18:55
Yes, it seems that I completely misunderstood things.
Seriously though, you're right: will it really make any difference. As I've commented elsewhere… They have made a living by standing up on TV and saying white is black and it has worked every time. Just like the way the IAEA report was misrepresented by all media outlets and Western governments, this 'good news' might actually mean nothing.
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Joe
December 4th, 2007 - 19:53
Democracy?
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Joe
December 4th, 2007 - 19:57
By the way, I certainly wouldn't advocate military action but this link provides some useful information about the state of democracy in Iran:
http://www.democracyforiran.de/Iran%20-%20past,%20present%20&%20future%20-%20Present%201.htm
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Tom
December 4th, 2007 - 19:58
Well it's sort of fragile and the Supreme Leader isn't elected, but Ahmadinejad will probably not be re-elected. That's at least the beginning of a democracy (and, according to observers, their elections actually work).
I think it's unlikely that bombing Iran would help to foster what democracy they have… actually, I think it would probably help to smash it.
Anyway, it's irrelevant. The US doesn't really consider the spreading (or protection) of democracy as particularly important. They give it plenty of lip-service but it's not their main concern.
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Igor The Troll
December 18th, 2007 - 18:28
USA vs Iran is all about Geo Politics…watch Hillary and the Stock Market Bubble for signals.
You can read my take on it here.
http://www.travelinasia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5701
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