Remember when a new American National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) claimed that Iran had stopped development of a nuclear weapon in 2003. The NY Slimes wrote that “[rarely], if ever, has a single intelligence report so completely, so suddenly, and so surprisingly altered a foreign policy debate here.” .

Moonbats rejoiced. It vindicated everything that they had been saying about the Bush Administration's foreign policy.

But ,now that President Obama has assumed command the intelligence agencies have reversed themselves... again.


Little more than a year after U.S. spy agencies concluded that Iran had halted work on a nuclear weapon, the Obama administration has made it clear that it believes there is no question that Tehran is seeking the bomb.

In his news conference this week, President Obama went so far as to describe Iran's “development of a nuclear weapon” before correcting himself to refer to its “pursuit” of weapons capability.

Obama's nominee to serve as CIA director, Leon E. Panetta, left little doubt about his view last week when he testified on Capitol Hill. “From all the information I've seen” Panetta said, “I think there is no question that they are seeking that capability.”

The language reflects the extent to which senior U.S. officials now discount a National Intelligence Estimate issued in November 2007 that was instrumental in derailing U.S. and European efforts to pressure Iran to shut down its nuclear program.
U.S. now sees Iran as pursuing nuclear bomb - Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-fg-usiran12-2009feb12,0,3478184.story)

Suddenly Iran is the danger that everyone dismissed ? Iran is not a peaceful country caught in a security in a security situation that we created ? Will Obama now take an aggressive posture toward Iran ?

This appears to me to be further indication that the intelligence agencies undermined the Bush administration . If there was “politicization” of intelligence during the Bush years, it was against President Bush's policies.

Seems more to me that it was the Bush Administration that ensured that the true reports on Iran were put away out of sight, as the US had already it's hands full with Iraq and could not use another regional problem there.
Obama is more of a realist, and therefore he puts the Iran problem back where it belongs : on the discussion table.

So Bush manipulated intel when it supported his policies so he could undermine them and when it opposed his polices so he could use it to support his policies ? I get it.


Why would the Bush Adm then take a move that undermined the EU3 negotiations ? It doesn't make sense.

Another thing that doesn't make sense is the Obama rhetoric during the campaign. Back then he said “Iran is a small country", there is absolutely no reason to be afraid of it. Will he now admit he lied or was completely wrong in his judgement ?

Yes, Bush realized that the Iran problems could not be handled at that time, so the intel. Info was pushed under the doormat.

Will he (Obama) now admit he lied or was completely wrong in his judgement ?
Your topic started with the Bush Administration's foreign policies in the Middle East.
So let's keep focused on all the lying and cheating by the Bush admin !

Right, Bush was shoving the intel under the doormat. It's always about Bush lying and cheating... never about the obstinate, whichever way the wind is blowing, self-serving left.

OBAMA: I think Iran continues to be a threat to some of its neighbors in the region, so they're still funding Hamas, they're still funding Hezbollah, and those are things we have to be concerned about. But it is absolutely clear that this administration and President Bush continues to not let facts get in the way of his ideology. And that's been the problem with their foreign policy generally. They should have stopped the saber-rattling, should have never started it, and they need now to aggressively move on the diplomatic front. Dec. 4, 2007.

Mere Rhetoric asks (http://www.mererhetoric.com/archives/11275444.html), "When Iran ostensibly didn't have a surreptitious nuclear program, the US needed to diplomatically engage them. Now that the charade is over and even Obama admits that they're running a massive nuclear program - the US needs to diplomatically engage them. What's that about not letting facts get in the way of ideology?"

sarnian My question did refer to Obama's policy options and you even commented on them .So no this is not only about the undermining of Bush policy ;but also about Obama's future options.

The incidences of Bush policy being undermined by both the CIA and often by the State Dept careerists are well documented in the book 'Shadow Warriors 'by Kenneth Timmerman .

At the time ,the NIE was chaired by Thomas Fingar, a State Department intelligence analyst with no known overseas experience who very briefly headed the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.Fingar was a key partner of Senate Democrats in their successful effort to derail the confirmation of John Bolton to become the UN Ambassador.

Fingar stacked the Bureau with members of the intel agencies who were opposed to Bush policies. Among them was Vann Van Diepen, the main author of the NIE,who refused to act on direct orders to apply nonproliferation sanctions .The third man responsible for the flawed NIE was Kenneth Brill.

When the three DNI officials worked in the State Department under then-Secretary Colin Powell, they supported Powell's belief that diplomacy, not confrontation and belligerence, would best address the threat from Iran's nuclear program.

What the NIE recommended was a carrot and stick approach to Iran ;something that the State Dept has preferred as a policy in almost everything for almost 30 years.Now that they have a President and Sec State willing to sign onto that approach they need to be more honest .Their goal was accomplished .They stopped any effort by the Bush Administration to use a tougher approach on Iran.

I predict that Obama is not going to have a lot of say in what is done about Iran.
Israel will unilaterally, if necessary, bomb Iran's nuclear program out of existence.
It's simple, really. Israel wants to continue to exist.