From laura Rozen's MoJoBLOG: on the NIE

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"The NIE is a breathtaking repudiation of the policy arguments advanced by Administration hardliners in recent years that Iran’s march toward a nuclear weapons program is relentless and inexorable," a Democratic Senate staffer who has closely followed Iran’s nuclear program tells Mother Jones in an emailed comment. "It appears as if the has fully absorbed the lessons of the 2002 Iraq NIE fiasco and is no longer afraid to stand up against its political masters."

"This is a blockbuster development and requires a wholesale re-evaluation of US policy," said nonproliferation expert John Wolfstahl, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a statement released by the National Security Network. "This NIE suggests that outside pressure and scrutiny has turned off Iran's nuclear weapons program. This is the piece of evidence that was missed in the case of Iraq, where the Bush administration was convinced that Iraq's efforts were continuing despite sanctions."

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The Democratic Hill staffer who closely follows Iran policy offered a note of caution to those convinced the NIE would stymie hardliners. It could also set back efforts to get a third round of economic sanctions through the UN Security Council, he warned. "Failure of the sanction drive at the UN may give Cheney et al the opportunity to convince the President that the diplomatic route is now closed and the United States must move to more direct military pressure."

More to come ...

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http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/12/63...