The NIE Estimate: How the hell did Cheney's office let THIS one get by?

[annabanana]

Seriously.. The VP's office has dicked around with the NIE Estimates over and over, with predictable results.. How did the one being reported on today slip through their fingers?

[malaise]

1. Maybe he's still in hospital

on in a grave locked up needing blood like a good vampire.

[Rex]

2. Can't catch everything. Bet Dick is detached from the real world in his bunker.

Getting retrofitted with Darth Power Suit.

[LSparkle]

3. Was there a deadline or something (they couldn't stall it anymore)?

Otherwise, they probably would have included it in the weekly Friday night "document dump."

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. It's the kind of thing that makes America great. Somebody ALWAYS tells.

[tekisui]

5. More evidence of a weakened Dick. Resignation Watch: Day 7

7 days since the pumper got shocked.

[in_cog_ni_to]

6. It must have been one of those Heroes my husband keeps assuring me will come forward to save our

country. He keeps insisting it will happen...I'm STILL waiting. Maybe this is one of them?:shrug:

[AlertLurker]

7. Because it suits their ultimate purposes:

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE:

When the NIE states that:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/20071203_release.pdf
"• We assess with moderate confidence Tehran had not restarted its nuclear weapons
program as of mid-2007, but we do not know whether it currently intends to develop
nuclear weapons.
• We continue to assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Iran does not currently
have a nuclear weapon.
• Tehran’s decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined
to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005. Our assessment
that the program probably was halted primarily in response to international pressure
suggests Iran may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged
previously."

The White House says:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/world/04irantext.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
"Today’s National Intelligence Estimate offers some positive news. It confirms that we were right to be worried about Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

When the NIE states that:
"• We judge with moderate confidence Iran probably would be technically capable of
producing enough HEU for a weapon sometime during the 2010-2015 time frame.
(INR judges Iran is unlikely to achieve this capability before 2013 because of
foreseeable technical and programmatic problems.) All agencies recognize the
possibility that this capability may not be attained until after 2015."

The White House says:
"But the intelligence also tells us that the risk of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a very serious problem."

The icing on the WH's cake:

"The estimate offers grounds for hope that the problem can be solved diplomatically — without the use of force — as the Administration has been trying to do. And it suggests that the President has the right strategy: intensified international pressure along with a willingness to negotiate a solution that serves Iranian interests while ensuring that the world will never have to face a nuclear armed Iran."


The WH's conclusions:

See? SANCTIONS ARE WORKING!!! INTENSIFY the sanctions!!!

[DCKit]

8. CNN's Lou Dobbs is covering it with an in-depth report. n/t