'US, Israel agree Iran abandoned nuclear bomb'

[Julian Englis]

Source: The Jerusalem Post

US and Israeli intelligence agencies mostly agree that Iran has not restarted its development of a nuclear bomb, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

According to the report, the assessment among top US officials is that Iran has not yet decided to pursue a nuclear weapon, a conclusion which was established based on intelligence analyses.

Israel - while seeing an existential threat in Iran's possible pursuit of a nuclear bomb - mostly agrees with those assessment, a US intelligence official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Times.

“Their people ask very hard questions, but Mossad does not disagree with the US on the weapons program,” the Times quoted the official as saying.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=262275

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The New York Times article cited:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/middleeast/iran-intelligence-crisis-showed-difficulty-of-assessing-nuclear-data.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

[cstanleytech]

1. If true this could go a ways to helping diffuse alot of the anxiety over Irans nuke program

and shows Iran can actually be reasonable.

[leveymg]

16. Anxiety relief, maybe, but the NYT story identifies the trigger that would send the US into war:

Here's what the actual Times report says,

Today, as suspicions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions have provoked tough sanctions and threats of military confrontation, top administration officials have said that Iran still has not decided to pursue a weapon, reflecting the intelligence community’s secret analysis. But if that assessment changes, it could lift a brake set by President Obama, who has not ruled out military options as a last resort to prevent Iran gaining nuclear arms.

I take that along with Obama's statement about a U.S. "no containment" policy as moving the goalposts closer to war, or at least we're more specific about it.

[cstanleytech]

19. I read it the way its written because it says "if" it doesnt say that he will do it and really

its only prudent because it would be silly to tie his own hands and it could come and bite him on the ass like the "read my lips, no new taxes" came to bite Bush sr on the ass.

[saras]

2. US, Israel agree no one fell for it.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. ??? What are you saying?

[Bodhi BloodWave]

13. my guess on what the other poster said

is that the US and Israel was hoping a lot more people would belive the BS they have been sprouting about Iran lately.(A view I agree with)

[harun]

18. They'll keep throwing that crap against the wall until something sticks.

But I agree with you. They agree no one is falling for the propaganda. Won't deter them though. They have no problem spending the tax dollars of the citizen's of either country to further push for war against Iran.

[jillan]

3. Now what are the GOP candidates going to talk about????? Oh yeah -

vaginas and gas prices.


This is fantastic news.

[intaglio]

4. I agree

Talking about the vagina is great, just finished doing that with my best beloved; but gas prices? Sorry I don't see the attraction

[Lars77]

5. I never thought i would read that in the Jerusalem Post

The most right wing and war-mongering newspaper in Israel.

This is great news.

[leveymg]

15. If you read the NYT story that identifies the trigger for war, we just moved closer to war.

We're being conned and lulled into complacency. The NYT piece actually says this:

Today, as suspicions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions have provoked tough sanctions and threats of military confrontation, top administration officials have said that Iran still has not decided to pursue a weapon, reflecting the intelligence community’s secret analysis. But if that assessment changes, it could lift a brake set by President Obama, who has not ruled out military options as a last resort to prevent Iran gaining nuclear arms.

I am not greatly comforted by that, and none of us should be either.

[KG]

6. well, that's no reason to stop saber rattling.

[Kolesar]

8. Not when there are aerospace industry appropriations to be made!

With public money!!

[Chan790]

11. Indeed. Why let facts get in the way of a war? n/t

[jpak]

9. I'll believe this when gas prices go down

yup

[Poll_Blind]

10. Who will be Netanyahu's next boogeyman? nt

PB

[Chan790]

12. Hezbollah or Hamas?

It's not like the animosity is undeserved in either case.

Neither is peace-seeking; both legitimately engage in international terrorism against civilian soft-targets.

[leveymg]

14. Q: When did US and Israeli intel reach the conclusion? Before Natanyahu extracted the "no contain-

ment" pledge from Obama, most certainly. So, then, what was the point of the grandstanding if it's, in fact, agreed that there is no Iranian weapons program to draw a line in the sand over?

More kabuki theater and endless provocation of the other side. Endless creation of anxiety among the American people. Thanks a lot, Barack. All you had to do was just come out and tell us this before Netanyahu came to town. But, then there would be nothing for Bibi to take home to his political constituents. Now, Bibi can say, "See, the Americans will attack Iran if they get the bomb."

For those who read the NYT story, it gets worse. The article identifies the trigger that would now send the US to war against Iran:

Today, as suspicions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions have provoked tough sanctions and threats of military confrontation, top administration officials have said that Iran still has not decided to pursue a weapon, reflecting the intelligence community’s secret analysis. But if that assessment changes, it could lift a brake set by President Obama, who has not ruled out military options as a last resort to prevent Iran gaining nuclear arms.

So, the net result of all this is to move the goal posts closer to war. I am not greatly encouraged.

[freshwest]

17. Now will the warmongering chickenhawks shut up? Oh, forgot, they're paid to talk. Good news, anyway.

[The Stranger]

20. Then for them to bomb Iran would be pure terrorism.

There is simply no other answer.

[agentS]

21. Time to tone down this overheated "rhetoric" then

We don't need to push these guys in Iran any harder now than we already have.

The red-line hasn't been crossed, so Israel's wacko leaders can relax a little bit. The ball's in your court now, Netanyahu. The spy agencies don't think Iran is going to build a bomb. What will you do? Ignore the agencies and attack, or wait for the assessments to change?