Review of Iran Intelligence to Be Sought

[laststeamtrain]

Source: Washington Post

Review of Iran Intelligence to Be Sought
As Conservatives Reject New NIE, Republican Senators to Urge Congressional Panel

By Robin Wright and Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 7, 2007; Page A09

Senate Republicans are planning to call for a congressional commission to investigate the conclusions of the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran as well as the specific intelligence that went into it, according to congressional sources.

The move is the first official challenge, but it comes amid growing backlash from conservatives and neoconservatives unhappy about the assessment that Iran halted a clandestine nuclear weapons program four years ago. It reflects how quickly the NIE has become politicized, with critics even going after the analysts who wrote it, and shows a split among Republicans.

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) said he plans to introduce legislation next week to establish a commission modeled on a congressionally mandated group that probed a disputed 1995 intelligence estimate on the emerging missile threat to the United States over the next 15 years.

"Iran is one of the greatest threats in the world today. Getting the intelligence right is absolutely critical, not only on Iran's capability but its intent. So now there is a huge question raised, and instead of politicizing that report, let's have a fresh set of eyes -- objective, yes -- look at it," he said in an interview.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/06/AR2007120602457.html

[rodeodance]

1. Assign them to the BASEMENT

[Magleetis]

2. In other words

The republicans are determined to murder Iranians.

[Ian David]

6. The Repuke plan is to murder ALL of us because they think they can get to Heaven without dying. n/t

[rodeodance]

3. and this is the party that was NOT concerned that Cheney Cherrypicked. my gawd!

[rodeodance]

4. AIE is behind this also!

.....Critics of the NIE have seized on the fact that career government officials who had battled with conservatives earlier in the administration on policy issues have now migrated to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which coordinated the writing of the estimate.

"The problem is not the nature of the intelligence, it's the nature of the presentation. This NIE was presented with a clear intention to deceive and to redirect foreign policy," wrote Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, in an e-mail. "I have no doubt that these people believe they are protecting the nation from the President, but our constitution doesn't contemplate the non-proliferation center at the ODNI governing U.S. national security policy."

Meanwhile, the White House sought to tamp down accusations that Bush misled the public about when and how much he knew about the new intelligence. During his news conference this week, Bush said he was told in August by the director of national intelligence that there was new information about Iran, but not what the new information was.

Press secretary Dana Perino said yesterday that Bush meant he was told the gist of the new intelligence -- that Iran had had a covert nuclear weapons program but had suspended it -- but he was not given details, pending a deeper assessment of the data. "The president could have been more precise in that language," she said, "but the president was being truthful."

[Finite]

13. So..

"Press secretary Dana Perino said yesterday that Bush meant he was told the gist of the new intelligence -- that Iran had had a covert nuclear weapons program but had suspended it -- but he was not given details, pending a deeper assessment of the data"

But surely that's enough detail for him to know that declaring Iran wanted to start WW3 was a lie? Republicans doing what they always do, trying to scare people into supporting them.

[MetaTrope]

5. How about a congressional inquiry into falsified intel on Iraq and exposure of CIA assets?

I mean, a REAL inquiry.

[JHB]

7. Some people just won't be happy unless they can kill a few thousand Iranians...

They will, of course, protest that characterization, but it's the truth.

[HuffleClaw]

8. "...instead of politicizing that report, let's have a fresh set of eyes..."

it was bush and his minions who 'politicized' the report, loooong before its becoming public by BURYING IT in favor of lies.

let me get this straight, the republicans, given a shining opportunity to distance themselves from their president instead have chosen to declare that the intelligence must be wrong by the mere virtue of its not agreeing with bush himself and must be investigated? isn't this like attempting to enact legislation that makes one's crimes of say, domestic surveillance, legal retroactively for example? oh wait, they ARE doing just that.

what sort of mentality can accept this sort of behavior as acceptable? and i don't see them demanding investigation of previous claims about the iraqi wmd they never found.

i might add the rest of that story tells a funny tale of clinton being challenged by none other than rumsfeld! because he dared veto a defense bill that tried to sneak in funding for a star wars anti-missile system.

and if that wasn't funny enough der leader is STILL trying to pretend he wasn't in the know.

[acmavm]

9. No Senator Ensign, the United States is the greatest threat in the

world today.

edit: To add along with Israel.

[Jim__]

10. While we're at it, let's check whether or not Cheney tried to politicize the intelligence.

I'm all for reviewing how the NIE came about. But, let's be sure to look at whether or not the bush admin was trying to corrupt the intelligence.

[rodeodance]

11. and the Dems will be scared-and go along with this.

[rodeodance]

12. no Dem comments included in this article as far as I can tell. Sessions comment here:

Ensign's proposal calls for Senate leaders to put an equal number of Republicans and Democrats on a panel to study the NIE and report back in six months. "There are a lot of people out there who do question . There is a huge difference between the 2005 and 2007 estimates," he said. The 2005 intelligence estimate reported that Iran was still working on a clandestine military program, and the new assessment basically says the previous judgment was wrong on a key point.

"If it's inaccurate, it could result in very serious damage to legitimate American policy," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). As recently as July, he noted, intelligence officials said in congressional testimony that they had a high degree of confidence that Iran was intent on developing the world's deadliest weapon. "We need to update our conclusions, but this is a substantial change," he said in an interview.

[Javaman]

14. Be prepared of yet another colon, ass for name, powell UN moment

with cartoons of imaginary exploding nuclear chickens or something.

then to be followed up with another made up "16 words".

And when all the radiated dust clears, wait for the immortal words, "I don't think anyone could have anticipated the entire world going to shit so quickly..."

[rockybelt]

15. Let's investigate

the misuse of intelligence for starting the Iraq war. The intelligence community did not get the intelligence wrong concerning Iraq. This administration massaged and manipulated the intelligence to appear as they wanted it.

Let's investigate the secret meetings of Cheney with big oil when they determined our energy policy.

Let's investigate why Cheney prowled the halls of the CIA pre-Iraq.

Let's investigate Cheney's role with Halliburton--his current role.

Let's investigate all the meetings between Abramoff and W at the White House.

Let's investigate why Cheney sat on this NIE for about a year.

Let's investigate the discrepancies in W's statements concerning this NIE and how they relate to his rhetoric concerning Iran.

Let's investigate Rumsfelds' actions as Secretary of Defense regarding torture

Let's investigate the "accidental" arming of a B-52 with 6 nucular missiles.

Let's investigate the outing of Plame and the destruction of her covert operation.

Let's investigate fraud within government agencies like FEMA.

Let's investigate signing statements and their effect upon the constitution.

There are literally hundreds of things that need to be investigated but never will be.

The investigation called for regarding this NIE are a desperate attempt by the repulsives to attempt to once again change the conclusions of this NIE.
I say again because Cheney has already tried and failed.

The CIA was not going to let happen the last time the shooter got hold of this intelligence. The intelligence is correct and it causes a real problem for this administration. If the whole truth comes out I believe that it will lead to the impeachment of both cheney and bush.

Please let the whole truth come out.

[Mountainman]

16. They are saying, my mind is made up now give me some facts to support what I think.

If we are going to investigate this, let's investigate the WMD intelligence also.

[Tyler Durden]

17. Bomb, bomb, bomb....bomb bomb Iran...

This is an example of what happens when the Separation of Church and State is not taken seriously.

The "Rapture Boys" just CAN'T WAIT to bring on the apocalypse.

I swear, if the Human Species survives another century, it will be in spite of religion and religious believe, not because of it.