BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Report Says Iran Halted Nuclear Weapons Program in 2003
Cheney and Lieberman won't be happy.
A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, contradicting an assessment two years ago that Tehran was working inexorably toward building a bomb.
The assessment, a National Intelligence Estimate that represents the consensus view of all 16 American spy agencies, states that Tehran’s ultimate intentions about gaining a nuclear weapon remain unclear, but that Iran’s “decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic and military costs.
Instead, the N.I.E. concludes it is more likely Iran could have a bomb by the early part to the middle of the next decade. The report states that the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research judges Iran is unlikely to achieve this goal before 2013, “because of foreseeable technical and programmatic problems.”...read on
Matt Yglesias predicts what the reaction will be to it:
The only appropriate response to this is to do what we've done already with IAEA information on Iran, with IAEA information on Iraq, and with Intelligence and Research Bureau information on Iran: ignore it.
Islamofascism is on the march. Deniers and appears must be ignored. Here's the declassified portions of the New Iran NIE about how the Iranian nuclear hype is mostly hype.
I'd assume William "the bloody" Kristol is in meetings all day---red veins popping out of his neck and yelling at the White House for letting this report see the light of day.
Frist and foremost, Lieberman is a tool!
North Korea has nukes...let's bomb them! Oh wait, they don't have oil...
Yeah, but what about it says nothing about thier nucular weapons.
Sheesh
This is not a good reason for Republicans to quit wetting their beds.
I'm sure that Cheney can think of new reasons to fear Iran, and keep the sheets stained.
The forecasted media reaction has already started. According to the AP coverage:
"Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the fall of 2003 under international pressure but is continuing to enrich uranium, which means it may still be able to develop a weapon between 2010 and 2015, senior intelligence officials said Monday."
According to the Reuters coverage:
"U.S. intelligence has determined that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 but believes it is continuing to develop technical capabilities that could be used to build a bomb, a government report said on Monday."
So, basically, what the mainstream media is reporting and will continue to report is "Well, our intelligence says they're not doing it now... but they could still! Bomb them!! Bomb them all!!!!
Reich-wingers will not care about this information, because it contains facts and reality. Reich-wingers just want to hear about more war, death, and murder. Give them more talking points because without them they are lost and scared children.
SHOCKING!!!
Obviously, any nation that might possibly obtain nuclear weapons in the next 5 billion years needs to be nuked now.
What does intelligence have to do with anything Bush does?
I can't even imagine reich-wingers attempting to spin this with anything but flat out denial. Amazing, reich-wingers are simply always on the wrong side of every issue.
Poor, poor, Joe....
This represents a clear success of the administration. The obvious consequence is that we must trust the administration and bomb Iran. If not, the next al qaeda strike is blood on your hands.
How's that for predicted talking point?
So what's going to happen now? Bush's rhetoric is downright stupid as it was if he wasn't planning war. But, now this? I'm having trouble figuring out the extent to which this makes us look bad.
I think all this means is that, now that the Dems have the power to issue subpoenas and indictments, and Bush will only be around for another 13 months to give pardons, nobody wants to be the next Tenet/Gonzales, and have no choice but to tell the truth.
Beurocrats respond to fear, just like anybody else. When the Republicans controlled all three branches of government, if The Shrub said 'fix the books' they fixed the books. Now, at least they've got pressure from two DIFFERENT sides, which is the way government SHOULD work.
I wonder how FOX Noise will smear this story into the ground.
Too bad Wolfowitz was run outta town in disgrace, he sure worked magic with the Iraq intellegence.
Breaking News: Condi to bring back Paul Wolfowitz to the State Department where he will once again have access to classified intellegence.
Cheney's hard on resumes.
Has there been a coup at the CIA?
Why else would they be telling Cheney to STFU?
So we threatened these people with bombings, sanctions, isolation when we knew they did not have an active nuclear program? When is enough, enough? Nancy and Harry, go fuck yourselves, you worthless doormats
Mr. T @ 3:
So, do you think Iran already has nukes???? If so, don't you think that angle would have been played by the current White House?
“U.S. intelligence has determined that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 but believes it is continuing to develop technical capabilities that could be used to build a bomb, a government report said on Monday.”
These technical capabilities are mainly improving Iran's irrigation infrastructure, which will allow Iranian kids to have better nutrition, which will help them do better in school, which will help them become scientists, which will help them upgrade the Iranian phone system, which might, according to the NSA, at sometime in the future be used to facilitate phone calls about Iran's reviving its nuclear weapon program. Possibly. Or not. In light of this information, Joe Lieberman and Bushco are calling for an immediate U.S. nuclear attack on Iran.
The White House grip on its departments is slipping. A couple of years ago this report would never have been released, and anyone leaking it would have feared for their jobs. Now mid-level bureaucrats are willing to leak such things, and upper level ones can use the imminent leak as justification for making a pre-emptive official release.
Fortunately for the neocons, the Right wing propaganda machine is adept at ignoring reality and pressing ahead with its ideological goals. If Iran were a green meadow populated by butterflies and hopping white bunnies, Liebermann and Kristol and Krauthammer and the Freepers could still be relied upon to insist that the bunnies carried anthrax and the butterflies were bugged and the whole place needed to be nuked.
'It's not too late', Lieberman shouted from the Senate floor, 'If we fire up the ICBM's now, we can launch before the official pigeons get here with the official news'.
'If we don't nuke Iran', he whispered to his staff, 'My AIPAC allowance is gonna be cut in half, and I won't get my Chanukkah bonus. I'll let you guys guess where that'll leave you! So DO something!'
(Lieberman's staff is scurrying now, trying to find some loose nukes to start the attack on Iran while the ICBM's are warming up, and the official pigeon is still en route with the official news that Iran has no nuclear weapons program)
So the BIG question is 'Who will win, the zionists again, or the forces of reason and good?'
Stay tuned, and away from outside walls and glass windows and doors.
NoOneYouKnow @ 18:
So this is just another front in the administration's war on science?
Cheney will be on with Russert Sunday, stating that the NIE is wrong. He got the straight dope from Mossad.
biff diggerence @ 22:
Then, months later he will deny ever saying that, then be confronted with video of him saying it.
And Hillary Clinton fell for this shit by voting for Lieberman/Kyle amendment.
Ya know, I'd like to believe that tis could possibly make a difference but it won't. Nothing does. Rice and Powell stated publicly that Saddam had no WMD... months before they lied about him having WMD. There are no consequences for failure and treason in the Former USA.
Please let me be wrong.
nformal talk by Reese Erlich author of "The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis" recorded December 1, 2007 in Seattle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXapm2CiXzY
Sweet Irony.
How much of the NIE content is courtesy Valerie Plame's former colleagues?
Maybe the CIA is tired of being the scape goat for 9-11.
The white house will spin this by saying, once long ago the IAEA was wrong about how far along Saddam was with his weapons program. Of course they won't say the reason the IAEA was wrong was because they were pulled out before they could finish their inspections. Just as they were pulled out before bush invaded in 03. Had they been able to continue their inspections in 03 the public would have known that this time there really were no WMD. Each of their reports, before the invasion, came back negative on WMD. I think the bush administration was afraid what they were reporting was going to convince the public that there was no "mushroom cloud" so he hurried up his invasion.
I remember hearing at the time one reason they had push ahead with the invasion was because the summers in Iraq were so hot and it would be difficult for our soldiers to function in that sort of heat.
So much bullshit has been fed to the American people, you would think they would be sick of it by now.
Not to worry, Cheney's on top of this crisis.
"Quick, forge a letter that Iranian agents have been discovered in Samoa, building a raft with the intent of sailing to Bikini, to pick up loose plutonium from the Hydrogen bomb blasts, in order to complete their nuclear weapons program. See if we have some ditzi blonde in the CIA who can dispatch her lover to pick up the forgery, surreptitiously, no fingerprints, and release it to the world through the Vatican, to give it maximum credibility'.
'Then put our nuclear subs on course and full alert to fire the Teheran group of missiles by no later than 7PM EST, so I can watch the nuclear shock and awe transmitted by satellite, whilde I'm having dinner with Mrs. Cheney tonight, she really gets off on that stuff, and I'm a little horny myself, fu*k the pacemaker, if you can't have a little fun, what's the point in living?'
Has someone gotten Langley back from the wacks? Any other reason they released that part of the NIE as "declassified"?
Looks to me like a shot across the OVP's bow.
Presently Cheney is filling up the tank to his waterboard with ice cold water.
Oh poor Mr McCain, his "bomb Iran" song is even less likely now to become a hit.
Now we will be able to separate the men from the suck-up boys. Let's see who tries to spin this and how.
All they want for Christmas is a new war.
Weaseldog @ 4:
Back to the IEDs and the Kud forces.
What's breaking about this ?
Either way the american people and the government have rarely cared about the truth just how to make excuses to do what they want or lies they can live with.
Patriot Actor @ 33:
I think you'll have to wait till February and then you will have it.
Are we going to hear now that Iran has been trying to buy yellow cookies from Africa?
There can be no doubt that Iran has in fact reconstituted its nuclear weapons program.
pissed off patricia @ 32:
That was already easy enough - the men are the ones that the repugs had to hire.
pissed off patricia @ 37:
The Bush administration is tracking shipments of Yellow Dye No 5, in case it is used to make their own yellow funnel cakes in Iran.
Stay tuned for more scary developments.
Ricky Bones @ 17:
"Nucular"
Sorry I got-chya with a spelling joke, Bones. It's like a "war on terra"
I'm banning myself from this site.
If Bushco gets away with their latest bullshit (Iran/nukes), then this country deserves to go down.
Okay, so who can guess what Bush's next excuse will be to invade Iran?
I'm listening to Reese Erlich. (I linked him above also...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXapm2CiXzY
He is making the argument that we won't bomb Iran until next year, because we don't bomb on Christian Holidays.
When is the next Arab Holiday after New Year's Eve?
Mr. T @ 41:
Oh, DUH me! I should have read closer :-) Now that I actually read that, I see it. Good one!
OH BOY.
Kristol, Lieberman and Podhoretz must be really pissed off.
See The Big Picture @ 5:
Dr. Acula @ 42:
How much farther down can we go before we hit bottom? I think I can see it from here.
This won't stop Cheney and the neocons from continuing to lie about Iran. When have they ever let facts get in their way?
JR @ 43:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tried to kill his daddy?
Oh, and whatever happened to that factory inside Iraq that made IEDs.
INSIDE IRAQ, not Iran, not Syria?
Lets pretend we didn't know they have no nukes and take em out anyway. We can give Iran to Jenna as a wedding gift.
Wow, think about it...we now trust our secret agents more than our elected government officials. Hmmmmm.
Does Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have prisons with rape rooms and does he gas millions of his own people?
do-si-do @ 53:
How not?
Their bidness is Intelligence.
JR @ 43:
They are big fat meanies.
do-si-do @ 53:
Hell, I trust my insane old neighbor across the street more than I trust our elected government officials.
JR @ 43:
He has to look under their couches for WMDs (or is WsMD?)
pissed off patricia @ 54:
Well he is the leader of a nation that is only one letter off from Iraq. And Iraq did these things, so I'm sure it must be true.
Phony intelligence agencies!
pissed off patricia @ 54:
And sadly, we Americans have torture and rape rooms and we use phosgene on cities populated by innocents.
We have become the enemy. I am ashamed for my country.
We found out who gave CLinton a BJ, but we don't get to find out who gave Gannon a press pass, or for that matter, Tom Daschell some Anthrax?
If this press gets anymore Liberal, I'm moving.
Why does the CIA hate America? Or do they just hate us for our freedom?
Check out the comments at LGF on all this (if you can stomach it) - they're in total denial over there and claiming that '2009 is too soon for me'
ugh... I need a shower...
Where exactly is this news "breaking". I haven't seen any news broken today. Some was a little dented, but not broken.
So what does Madam Hillary think of her fu*king vote now? She's two for two when it comes to falling for the repub war traps.
pissed off patricia @ 65:
Did the Daily Show already fix it?
Bud @ 64:
I'll just have to use my imagination, no way I'm going there.
Bush should announce that he can't invade and blow the shit out of Iran until he gets more blog commenters to sign up for the military. I betcha we would hear about a lot more asses with pimples on them than we have ever heard about before.
pissed off patricia @ 67:
Hillary is going to be sworn into office, after Bush bombs Iran and our troops are taking heavy losses.
She'll bring back the draft. Losses will continue. The Republicans will blame her for mismanaging the war. They will sweep the House and Senate in 2010. She'll serve one term and the next pres after, will be a Republican.
Weaseldog @ 68:
I'm afraid whomever our next president should be, if it is a dem, he or she will be a one term-er because bush is leaving way more to clean up than can be done in four years, plus he's leaving the country in two wars too.
Weaseldog @ 68:
Well I better just go shoot myself. lol
The Bush regime is no doubt scrambling to come up with another excuse/lie to invade Iran....or they may just decide to go ahead and invade anyway just as they did Iraq when the UN dissed their bogus claims about Saddam's WMDs.
Egypt has nukes.
Syria (apparently) had nukes.
N. Korea has nukes.
Pakistan has LOTS of nukes.
Iran MAY SOMEDAY develope nukes -- yep, better git 'em now cuz we need us another war!
When Sen. Obama stated that we should talk to the Iranians, he was slammed for his inexperience. I know he won't win, but he seems to so much more often right than Hillary. If Sen.Clinton is our nominee, I swear I'm staying home.
casper46 @ 70:
Then you won't see what happens next!
Time for an orgy of anguish at the White House. Well General Hannity, how ya gonna spin this one? Jackass.
xenon @ 75:
Simple --> denial.
Dear Connecticut,
Will you please lock up your Senior Senator?
Sincerly,
America.
This is what they get for throwing the intel community under the bus.
I get this weird mental image of Cheney rampaging down the halls in Langley, looking like Baron Vladimir Harkonnen on a meth-induced roid-rage bender, while analysts and clerks cower behind barricades.
Drat! W's plan to aquire Park Place and and Boardwalk on the same corner is foiled.
Wow, I just heard about this on CNN. They actually talked about it. I didn't get to hear all they said because my dog was demanding to be taken outside.
I guess tonight BillO will send his cameras out to interview the CIA and find out how they could write such a report.
Folks, you have to read the real news from Barry Chamish. He may sound as a conspiracy theorist, but then according to him Perez has already sold Jerusalem to the Vatican.
I wonder what is Lieberman going to say about this news?
It is Eretz Israel that Lieberman is fighting for or is it giving up Jerusalem to the thugs?
Please do not delete this message because I wrote about Vatican. Soon the reality is going to hit home and it is only a matter of time.
See, this is just another attack in the war against Christmas. Everyone knows that part of the holy season is bombing some middle east country and now with this new information, that war and bombing may have to be delayed. The CIA is making the baby jesus cry.
Liebermann will siimply up his daily dosage of "crazy juice" and plow forward.
Too bad the NYT did not have this kind of reporting in the run up to the invasion of Iraq.
By the way what is Judith Miller up to these days?
Still boinking that steaming chunk of manhood Scooter Libby I presume.
Weaseldog @ 61:
Indeed you have become the enemy, and infinitely worse as a country by lying about it to appear the moral high ground.
Looks like I responded to a deleted post.
JerryM @ 84:
I worry that Bush is set to begin World War III. If he does, will you be fighting with or against the US?
People! Come On!! They still might acquire the knowledge to build a nuclear bomb. Therefore, we have no choice except to bomb them.
People aren't allowed to acquire knowledge on the bush watch. That seems to be an offense punishable by bombing.
Dr. Matt @ 76:
"This report is simply wrong. Just as the reports on Iraq were wrong. We know that Saddam has weapons. Because they haven't been found, or were sent to other locations outside of the country, doesn't mean they don't exist." - Sean Hannity
There...that's what he'll say. It's the Santa Claus argument you use on children. Just because you don't see him, doesnt' mean he doesn't exist.
JerryM @ 35:
Shame on you for lumping the American people in with the goverment. American people always care about the truth.
I wonder how many CIA agents will be exposed in retaliation for this revelation?
Proud American Liberal @ 90:
Maybe the CIA did this in retaliation for the criminal outing of Valerie Plame Wilson.
IgnoranceIsNotBliss @ 87:
Correction: Iran still has THE INTENT to acquire knowledge. So, BOMBS AWAY!
(BTW, Cheney will not go on Meet The Press and say he got the straight dope from Masood. He'll go on Meet The Press and quote The Times, because obviously that can't be a REAL intellingence estimate because it's public. Intellignece estimates are, by definition SECRET, and therefore that can't be an intelligence estimate. Furthermore, he can't quote the secret (real) one, so he has to quote the times. And the real secret one will be secret, and hence real, unless he gets caught leaking it again in order to disgrace all the people who leaked it in the first place...because if the President leaks it, it's not secret anymore because it's been declassified, unless Bush signs a signing statement making all official secrets public...and...)
See The Big Picture @ 5:
The really interesting part of the comparison between the way these two news services (one, foreign, and the other, domestic) are reporting the story is in the headlines. The Reuters headline says: "U.S. report contradicts Bush on Iran nuclear program," while the AP headline says: "Iran still able to develop nukes." And, of course, the reports that follow the headlines strike the same tone, with Reuters highlighting just how wrong the administration's earlier statements were, and AP continuing the drumbeat of the threat Iran constitutes.
If you ever wanted proof of the toadies to Bush the American media are, this graphically proves it.
Dr. Acula @ 91:
Actually, the day the CIA decided to start defending itself got very little public attention. It was the day that they pulled some blackmail dirt to make Porter Goss fall on his own sword. To this day, we STILL don't know how they did it, but I have no doubt they were behind it. Ever since then, I think they've pretty well protected and insulated themselves from that kind of petty political interference. I think just about every branch of government is now just protecting itself and running out the clock on Bush's Presidency, and have taken steps to protect themselves. My guess is that the CIA has made sure that everybody in the White House knows who all the covert agents are, has proof that they know, and are tapping all of their phones just HOPING they leak some s#!t to Bob Novak.
It's called control of oil reserves. Thats all the republicans and oil companies care about.
Americans who vote republican should be forced to enlist and fight for these thieves and have their taxes doubled to pay for the war.
rain @ 89:
Nice one, that's quite funny :) Your country, you're government; last time I check the people in office are american too.
Weaseldog @ 86:
If I were to fight it would be against, as with the rest of the world, america has done a very good job of isolating itself from the world and the majority of the allies it used to have, I couldn't support america's view of the world and that it is driven by hateful greed.
As it is, I don't believe violence is the answer, I'm not american.
Intelligence can't be trusted, the intelligence led the US in the the eye-rackee quagmire, now the intelligence is saying the opposite, I say, amu-ree-kah , trust your gut feeling. NUKE AHMEDIHITLER AND HIS EVIL REGIME FROM THE STONE AGE FORWARD!
JerryM @ 96:
What might be your government's position?
Did you guys hear that? Sounded like someone was banging a big ass kettle drum and then walked right off a cliff.
I know that if I was Mahmoud and I wanted a Nuke-Yuh-Ler missile, I'd just go talk to my Ruskie allies. Why bother with all this enrichment crap? I'm sure I could offer one of them $40-$50 million in untraceable gold and a few hundred thousand pairs of blue jeans and they'd just toss me a spare they had laying around.
Weaseldog @ 98:
They opposed the US invasion and occupation.
MeeToo Chalabi, a distant third cousin of Ahmed, has offered to mediate the Iran crisis, for a moderate fee of 500K/month (but Euros, NO DOLLARS, he insisted) He said he had gained a lot of experience watching his cousin, Ahmed, during the Iraq 'situation', and is convinced he should be 'fixed to retire for life by next Memorial Day'.
He wants 'hazardous pay if nukes are involved', and wishes to be excused on his sabbaths, which are the week days.
The Bushies are grabbing his offer, surprised he offered a fixed sum, instead of holding out for the standard 'No Bid', 'No Firm Price' contract.
E in MD @ 99:
He said the same himself, that there is no point having them in the first place and that there are easier & faster ways of getting them
Left&Left @ 16:
To be fair...just because Iran is not *now* working on nuclear weapons, does NOT erase the fact they do have hands in the terrorism business.
no, not the "terrorist" crap that bush is pulling all around, but that does not negate the fact that there still *is* some terrorism just waiting to happen...we can't completely ignore that part.
Just the way the bushites are going about it makes it sound like terrorists are waiting around every corner.
Don't believe a word of this NIE. It was put together by America hating libruls or communists or communistic libruls.
Real patriots stay home and cheer on the bombing of Iran.
2002: The UN, IAEA, and Hans Blix say Iraq has no WMDs. George Putz and the neo-clowns disagree.
2007: The UN, IAEA, and US intelligence community say Iran has no nuclear weapons. George Putz and the neo-clowns disagree.
How many times do these morons and war criminals have to be shown up before people wake up?
2002: The UN, IAEA, and Hans Blix say Iraq has no WMDs. George Putz and the neo-clowns disagree.
2007: The UN, IAEA, and US intelligence community say Iran has no nuclear weapons. George Putz and the neo-clowns disagree.
How many times do these morons and war criminals have to be shown up before people wake up?
Sure, Weaseldog(Grand Old Pervs) will take back the House in 2010,and win back the White House in 2012,and i am Santa.
Josh@103 Hey fool listening to bullshit like what you're attempting to rationalize is why we are all in this current position. If you want to be "fair" to these cocksuckers, that's your business, [Deleted. A nasty thing to wish on anyone. Please don't do it here. Thanks-Sitemonitor]
The ultra right-wing in Israel, aligned with the neocons and the US/Israeli defense contractors, has been trumped publicly by US Intel. Keep your eye on their rhetoric. If another 'disaster' happens within 12 months, no matter how byzantine, be highly circumspect. There's too much money at stake. Something is going to implode/explode. Why is Wolfowitz at State? Time to keep our eyes off the big things and connect the seemingly inconsequential. If this report is true, and the European/Chinese/Russian insiders would know, then expect a few chess pieces to move this week.
And keep your eye on the Climate Change issue. When the Rothschilds in France pore enough money into it to destabilize the Indian economy (with that vegetable program) you know something's up.
Gee ... if you can't bomb Iran, just who can you bomb these days?!?!
Isn't Hillary supposed to know this stuff as a member of the Armed Services Committee? Ditto Bill, who still receives the same daily CIA reports that Bush Sr and Bush Jr get?
People, people, People.
If you check your Bible, first chapter, it states that Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of knowlegde and God punished them for that sin. Iran has gorged at the trough of nuclear knowledge. And you all well know who God's executioner is. Talks to him regular. Iran knows nuclear in the biblical sense of the word and it's the thought that counts. Check your bible, it's all there.
"Oh. That's very different. Never mind."
Bit NOLA @ 15:
The Intel agencies have been subtly revolting against the Bush admin for the past couple of years by leaking reports like this. A few months ago, a couple of bigwigs from the NSA said that Bush went too far with wiretapping... think about that for a moment: the whole purpose of the NSA is to tap intel by intercepting communications.
Johnny2Bad @ 30:
Langley released it as "declassified" because they want to maintain their credibility so as to say that political pressure had nothing to do with them holding back the report.
Ron @ 34:
That's what I'm afraid will happen. They've been down that path before, vilifying the Iranian Kuds Forces and claiming "high tech and sophisticated IEDs" have been making their way across the border from Iran.
Personally, I have yet to see any reliable news sources that agree with that assessment.
Weaseldog @ 44:
The Iranians are Persians. It's a different ethnic group. Religion wise, there are Muslim and Christian Persians. The majority, though, are Muslims. More specifically, they're Shia Muslims.
I'll leave you alone now. :D
Here's the deal. The WH knew this report was coming. They've been trying to influence its conclusions for months. Some time ago they realized that the NIE wasn't going to be a complete sellout and would state that the Iranians had no weapons program.
Now, remember Bush's "World War III" speech? Remember what he said? He said that he wouldn't "tolerate" Iran having the "knowledge" of how to build a nuke.
Problem solved! Iran doesn't need to have a nuke, doesn't even need to be trying to get one. All that's necessary is for Iran to know how to go about building one if they ever wanted to. Hell, anybody can go onto "The Google" and find out how to do that!
Josh @ 104:
we should all be beshittng our drawers im asceered!
SCHRODINGER"S CAT @ 46:
And, of course, Richard Perle
Josh @ 104:
Josh, you should look up the definition of "fair".
Anyway, terrorism is such a broad term. If you're talking about foreign terrorism (as opposed to domestic, e.g. OK City), then the threat is minute.
One thing Israel firsters have been trying to do for decades is lump Israel's and the United State's interests together.
Israel refers to several groups as terrorists because it makes it's job of bombing civilian populations easier. Hamas was created as a response for Israel's decades long occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Hizbollah was established in 1982 as a resistance organization to drive out the Israeli invasion from Lebanon.
These two groups have no qualms with the United States. They may resent the government's policies, but they don't directly want to do the U.S. harm. Their fight is with Israel.
This video with Sy Hersh and Scott Ritter explains it (fast forward to 2:30):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ddjZXrrsQ
JUST A MINUTE.
The Pentagon has been planning for a strike on Iran for the last year ( or more). All the aircraft carriers and B2 bombers are pointed towards Iran.
Now what?
Well they could attack Venezuela. Hugo Chavez is a bit lippy and likes to threaten America , sort of like Saddam.
OK .Haul all that military equipment back to the western hemisphere. What's a $ 100 billion dollars.
Joe Lieberman is nothing but a psychopath along with all the other irrationalists and psychopaths who want more war.
Don't you guys think that if this leak leads us to begin talking about how Iran "stopped" it's nuclear weapons program it would represent a rhetorical victory of sorts for the Bush Administration? According to the IAEA, there's been no evidence of such a program to begin with. Bush has presented ZERO evidence to contradict that finding. Yet one little leak has all of us waving around a report, published by the known liars in the Bush Administration, that says Iran has it's nuclear weapons program "on hold", effectively confirming it's existence based on nothing at all except what?
A National Intelligence Estimate? Are you kidding me? After the run-up to the Iraq Occupation you mean to tell me we STILL believe those things? We sat here watched the Bush Administration rig an NIE from the roota to the toota and still we believe these things? Are we that stupid?
Every time an anti-war activist, blogger, pundit or politico says the words, "Iran stopped it's nuclear weapons program" they are doing Bush's work for him because they are reinforcing the notion that such a program is known to have existed at all, a notion with no factual basis whatsoever. Once they have enough liberal and anti-war figures repeating that a enough times do you know what the next step is?
"Oh, no one disputes that Iran had nuclear weapons program that they're just waiting to restart! Even [insert liberal sucker here] said so!"
Stop me if that sounds familiar.
-ep
So Bush will just change his rationale for wanting to attack Iran. "They speak Farsi and are trying to make us do the same. I nuked them there so we don't have to speak Farsi here".
The warmongers will always invent reasons for making war.
This report is from the New York Times. They have less journalistic integrity than CNN.
Doesn't sound very believable to me.
F_ _ _ YOU LOOSERMAN....
[Deleted. Off topic-Sitemonitor]
Wow! Just heard RANDI RHODES speak in Michigan. Give her WE BELIEVE speech a whirl. http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/live/ Explains the patriotic duty to IMPEACH.
cult of personality Lieberman strikes again. He doesn't care how many people not related to him die so he can get pats on the back by the Clear Channelites
Honestly, folks. Help me out here. Did I miss the part where it was actually proven that Iran ever had a weapons program at all? I suppose it's possible, so if you have any firm information to that effect I'd really like to see it.
-ep
You people are suckers, you really are.
The Report states with confience that Iran had a nuclear weapons program, "but stopped it"
That is all the Bush administration needs to go into Iran, assurance that the program existed and can be restarted at some point. There is no proof of this, but hey, when did that ever stop anyone.
I mean , damn, did ANYONE? read it. This is not a handslapping, it is just the apperance of one. Just like all those silly Senate hearings that amount to no criminal charges.
EPeoples @ 125:
Well, you said what I said just a whole lot better.
JerryM @ 101:
You want to WIN against NeoCons? It's the same way you defeat terrorism. You call out the "act" and separate the law-breakers from the country. The Bush regime is a criminal conspiracy -- that's a lot smaller group to deal with than the USA. They LOVE to hide behind the flag, the church, the troops and small children whenever they can. But THEY are the ones who benefit from the Contractor war-profiteering, cronyism, and pilfering our nations wealth.
England and Canada and France will be in tow with whatever evil war Bush has cooked up. The reason he needs the war is because this is the new economic model -- note what China is doing in Africa -- so much like what the US did in Latin America. Chaos, puppet governments, and globalization that pillages the resources of the people.
If there is a WW III, then the NeoCons and robber barons win, as they've always won -- by getting people to fire their weapons at other innocent people, who would rather be left alone. Meanwhile, they steal everything.
The Likud party and Liebermann are not Israel, the NeoCons and BushCo are not America, Sarkozy and his goons are not France, and the Poodle is not England (oh, great, he is gone). Italy and Australia have won a reprieve from the NeoCons, while Mexico did not. IT's getting very dicey right now, and if the US ever gets oversight back, and the cowards out of congress -- then these people are going to go to prison. So they CANNOT let a good American become president in 2008. Guilliani or Hillary, or any of the pant-stains on the Republican side are their best bet. If Kucinich or Edwards are the Democratic nominees -- it may get scary, but they are our best hope. Ron Paul? Are you kidding me, his economics couldn't echo Mexico more. It shows that some people can get chumped all the time, and because he says a few obvious truths, he gets a total pass on having the same failed Reagan economic policies that started this mess.
wakeup @ 133:
>> It proves there is no real threat right now -- which is the rationale for a war.
Above on beyond that; Iran has never signed a non-proliferation treaty, and a sovereign nation has a right to defend itself. Nations much less stable than Iran have these weapons (Pakistan, North Korea), and yet, we can live with that. We also have Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, which have all actually attacked American troops at one time or another -- Iran NEVER has.
And, as long as we are talking about "awareness", perhaps you didn't notice that Iran actually sent troops to Afghanistan to help the US get Osama, and that their country had the largest pro-US outpouring of sympathy after 9/11 of any country (other than the USA). The fiction that the Iranian people are against the USA was TOTALLY fabricated by George Bush. And he has alienated them and pushed their government back into a reactionary and totalitarian government. Bush actively works to undermine Democracies and start wars -- you just don't know it.
Anything that can be percieved as anti-bush is held as 100% fact. When are you liberal morons going to wake up and realized that your precious democrates have done NOTHING to prevent or fix any problem we are facing today and as long as you all make bush your only enemy, the more you make yourself JUST LIKE HIM! Wake up and think for yourself! Quit quoting the half-assed biased reports you see on tv or on the internet and actually do some research! I hate what bush has done to this country as much as anyone but if I only focus on him, I miss the big picture. ALL of our politicians are in the pockets of big oil. We need to vote out every single MFing encumbant and start voting independant of BOTH parties! Question everything! Think for yourself!!!!
"Say it aint so Joe... Say it aint so"
If indeed Iran stopped its nuclear-weapons program in 2003, is it a coincidence that this was the same year America made good on its threat of military force against Saddam Hussein's Iraq?
Q: How can you tell when a neocon is lying?
A: They're lips are moving.
Funny how most of you are so willing to believe intelligence reports when they assist you in singing your irrational anti-bush tune. You forget that North Korea was NOT attempting to get nukes either. Make no mistake you idiots... Iran is trying to get nukes and to believe other-wise is moronic. Hell, they have no reason NOT to attempt to acquire them. Believing in the goodness of the human race and listening to your heart and wishes when dealing with that portion of the country will bite you in your ass. I am certain that most of your know-it-alls have never been to the Middle East and only think you know what they are about. Try it...once. It is a culture of lies, half truths, and empty promises. Your wanting Bush to fail has blinded you to the immense danger Iran presents us. Believe the report if you want, just remember your old leftist argument of WMD. Dolts.
Paranoid nutjob. Listen to yourself man. It is fucking scary that you believe that shit. Wake up.
VitriolAndAngst @ 135:
VitriolAndAngst @ 135:
Well, I cant agree more.
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