Iran says U.S. report vindicates nuclear program

[Praxius]

Iran says U.S. report vindicates nuclear program
Iran says U.S. report vindicates nuclear program

Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. intelligence report that casts significant doubt on the White House's claims Tehran is still seeking nuclear weapons through its nuclear enrichment program. In a dramatic reversal from previous reports' conclusions, the latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report released on Monday said it believes "with high confidence" that Iran put its bid to build a nuclear bomb on hold in 2003. Tehran has insisted it never has sought nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the report indicated it was becoming clear that Iran's enrichment program is for peaceful purposes. "It's natural that we welcome … countries that correct their views realistically which in the past had questions and ambiguities about [Iran's nuclear activities]," Mottaki said Tuesday. Conservative lawmaker Elham Aminzadeh told the Associated Press that "it proved that Iran is not a danger to the world, as some members of the Bush administration claim." The report, assembled from 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, could hinder U.S.-led efforts to secure a third round of sanctions against Iran through the United Nations Security Council for failing to meet its demands regarding nuclear activity. Report "consistent" with watchdog's findings: IAEA The declassified summary of the report also says Iran continues to enrich uranium and could have a weapon within a handful of years. "We also assess with moderate to high confidence that Tehran, at a minimum, is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons," said the report, released by the White House. The report said it is moderately confident Iran is technologically capable of producing a nuclear weapon "during the 2010-2015 time frame." The International Atomic Energy Agency, whose director-general, Mohamed El-Baradei, has often clashed with U.S. administration over Iran, responded positively to the report, saying it was "consistent" with its own findings. In a statement Tuesday, El-Baradei said it should help diffuse the escalating crisis between Iran and Western nations opposed to its nuclear enrichment program, while also prompting Tehran to work with his agency. In Israel, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "it's apparently true" that Iran stopped pursuing its military nuclear program in 2003. "But in our opinion, since then it has apparently continued that program," Barak told Army Radio. "There are differences in the assessments of different organizations in the world about this, and only time will tell who is right." Democrats call for 'diplomatic surge' U.S. President George W. Bush is scheduled to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, in which he is sure to face questions over his administration's portrayal of Tehran's nuclear enrichment program, which he has previously said could lead to "World War Three." Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, said the report was "good news" and showed the administration's hardline stance against Tehran was working. But Bush's Democratic opposition in Congress called for a major overhaul of the United States' Iran policy in the wake of the report. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the White House must begin "a diplomatic surge" to engage with Iran similar to what previous administrations did with the former Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is not the first time the Bush administration's selective declassification of intelligence estimates has been questioned. The White House released and frequently cited portions of a previous National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that claimed Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. That assertion proved false.

I love this:

Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, said the report was "good news" and showed the administration's hardline stance against Tehran was working.

Yes, I am sure it was because of that... nice way of trying to take credit of something that never existed

[Praxius]

Addition:


U.S. President Bush gestures during his news conference in the Brady Press Room at the White House on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007. (AP / Ron Edmonds)

CTV.ca | Bush: Iran intel report is a 'warning signal'

President Bush said Tuesday that the international community should continue to pressure Iran on its nuclear programs, saying a new intelligence report finding that Tehran halted its development of a nuclear bomb provides an opportunity. "I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program," Bush said. "The reason why it's a warning signal is they could restart it." Bush spoke one day after a new national intelligence estimate found that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003, largely because of international scrutiny and pressure. That finding is in stark contrast to the comparable intelligence estimate of just two years ago, when U.S. intelligence agencies believed Tehran was determined to develop a nuclear weapons capability and was continuing its weapons development program. It is also stood in marked contrast to Bush's rhetoric on Iran. At his last news conference on Oct. 17, for instance, he said that people "interested in avoiding World War III" should be working to prevent Iran from having the knowledge needed to make a nuclear weapon. Bush said Tuesday that he only learned of the new intelligence assessment last week. But he portrayed it as valuable ammunition against Tehran, not as a reason to lessen diplomatic pressure. "To me, the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) provides an opportunity for us to rally the international community -- to continue to rally the community -- to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its program," the president said. "What's to say they couldn't start another covert nuclear weapons program." He also asserted that the report means "nothing's changed." "I still feel strongly that Iran is a danger," he said. "I think the NIE makes it clear that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace. My opinion hasn't changed." Bush called the news conference, his first in nearly seven weeks, to intensify pressure on lawmakers amid disputes over spending and the Iraq war. Taking advantage of his veto power and the largest bully pulpit in town, Bush regularly scolds Congress as a way to stay relevant and frame the debate as his presidency winds down. Democrats counter that Bush is more interested in making statements than genuinely trying to negotiate some common ground with them. Specifically, Bush again on Tuesday challenged Congress to send him overdue spending bills; to approve his latest war funding bill without conditions; to pass a temporary to fix to the alternative minimum tax so millions of taxpayers don't get hit with tax increases; and to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. "Congress still has a lot to do," Bush said. "It doesn't have very much time to do it."

What a twit, but that's just me

[jose]

Senior intelligence officials said Monday they failed to detect Iran's fall 2003 halt in nuclear weapons development in time to reflect it in the 2005 estimate.

This national intelligence estimate was originally due in the spring of 2007 but was delayed because the agencies wanted more confidence their findings were accurate, given the inaccuracy of the 2002 intelligence estimate of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.

US officials say Iran nuclear weapons program stopped in 2003, sharp change from earlier view - International Herald Tribune

A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran has been held up for more than a year in an effort to force the intelligence community to remove dissenting judgments on the Iranian nuclear programme, and thus make the document more supportive of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's militarily aggressive policy toward Iran, according to accounts of the process provided by participants to two former Central Intelligence Agency officers. But this pressure on intelligence analysts, obviously instigated by Cheney himself, has not produced a draft estimate without those dissenting views, these sources say. The White House has now apparently decided to release the unsatisfactory draft NIE, but without making its key findings public. A former CIA intelligence officer who has asked not to be identified told IPS that an official involved in the NIE process says the Iran estimate was ready to be published a year ago but has been delayed because the director of national intelligence wanted a draft reflecting a consensus on key conclusions -- particularly on Iran's nuclear programme.

POLITICS-US: Cheney Tried to Stifle Dissent in Iran NIE

[grandpa]

In short, the new estimate said "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons."

In contrast to this new stimate, Bush told a news conference on Oct. : "...if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

When asked then if he believed Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."

Interesting developments.

Grandpa h.

[Praxius]

You Want to know what really pisses me off to no end about this entire situation?

I TOLD YOU ALL SO MONTHS AGO!!!

I had less spies and intelligence officers working for me then the entire US, and I knew this was all BS, I knew this was exactly what was going on with Iraq, AND I KNEW THEY WOULDN'T FIND ANYTHING!

But the real PO is Bush is still in denial, and still claiming "Oh, but they still pose a threat."

Give me a friggin break and someone hang Bush until he is dead before he kills us all.

Credibility of US Intelligence before this:

Zero (0)

Credability of US Intelligence after this:

Negative 25 (-25)

Global enemy #1 - The USA, plain and simple. This proves the lack of credibility, trust, compitence and genuine care for the well being of not just those in Iran, not just in Iraq, but the entire world.

Bush shooting his mouth off about starting WWIII over more proven screwed up and false information is beyond all tollerence, should be impeached, or what I would prefer, have him tried by the global community for war crimes.

This Neo Nazi needs to be taken out of power and by God, I won't shed a tear if he vanishes from the face of the earth.

Bush has to be the biggest scum of the 21st Century.



He can goto hell for all I care, but that's just my opinion.

[grandpa]

Quote by: Praxius You Want to know what really pisses me off to no end about this entire situation? I TOLD YOU ALL SO MONTHS AGO!!!

You weren't alone, Prax. I expressed skepticism as well, as did some others. More importantly, we asked for some compelling evidence (not that Iran having nukes justifies an invasion, but it would at least give Bush some credibility).

Grandpa h.

[Rainbow]

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the report indicated it was becoming clear that Iran's enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.

That is all you need, and the rest is a game.
Why some guys got so excited (by presenting their views all over mass-media) ?
Because they are political imbeciles, thinking about their party positions and/or their posts.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Rainbow That is all you need, and the rest is a game. Why some guys got so excited (by presenting their views all over mass-media) ? Because they are political imbeciles, thinking about their party positions and/or their posts.

All with very high stakes and risks, not just to the US but the rest of the world. I don't care what anybody thinks, you don't go running around playing the World War Three Card for points based on hunches.

I have heard a lot about the right to bear arms in a time of need, and I heard a lot about opposing governments which risk the safety and well being of the citizens freedoms and liberties..... to maintain the security of the people.

He has broken many parts to the constitution with the patiot act for starters, he has infringed apon the privacy and freedoms of the US people, he has invaded two soverign nations, one 100% proven to be based on false information and propaganda, with no know plan of withdrawl prior to even starting the invasion, has been responsible for sending thousands and thousands of men and women to fight in this unjust war and die, and if not, wounded and mamed by this war...... and he almost got away with it again, but on a more grander scale by attempting to start WWIII.......

Why hasn't there been an Impeachment?

Why hasn't there been a revolution?

Why hasn't anybody acted apon their right to bear arms against this domestic invader?

Why hasn't anybody acted apon their right to bear arms against the government and president who went against just about everything the constitution stands for?

Is it because there is a mentality of being the Leader of the Free World? Worry that it would show weakness or a sign the country is fractured?

Damit! It'd show Unity! It'd show humanity! It'd show you guys believe in the right things and stand by what you were born and raised to believe in!

This madness has to stop.... he has not made your country anymore secure.... with this, if I was an enemy of the US, this would give ample reason to hate more, and want more destruction.... this is critical in the most serious maner, and people have to wake up and wake up now!

Don't wait until the next election and hope for the best, all the future presidential hopefuls have all the same goals and agendas, it's a farce just like the Russian election to trick you into thinking there will be change in a peaceful manner..... it's been a joke on everyone for years now and it's time the people make the government work by force.

Oh But that's just my opinion once again, I can't tell people what to do.... that's just not Democratic.

Added:

And I want to be perfectly clear that this is by no means ment to be Anti-American.... on the contrary. I would much rather have the old US of A back that I knew.... and not this shell.

[Rainbow]

I am afraid you take politics as an "open and honest" contest, while participants cordially express their true intentions.
Politics is all about money game, instead.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Rainbow I am afraid you take politics as an "open and honest" contest, while participants cordially express their true intentions. Politics is all about money game, instead.

But you don't get it... I'm not talking about how it is, I'm talking about how it should be, which each one of you have the power and right to act apon to make it no longer the above I quoted.

I already know all this and is what I have been trying to explain for years. But each year, I see everything unfold exactly how I predicted it, and nobody seems to clue in..... I'm personally just getting sick and tired of just watching it all happen and nothing being done.

Like I said, I can't do anything, it's not my country to revolt.... the nearest thing I could do is muster up an invasion to tople the government and give you guys a kick start..... but nobody up here wants to do that, and I really don't see why I or any other nation needs to do that for you guys.... you got the guns... Use them.

[another day]

God Bush is just enraging. It's so obvious what his plan is, and it's so obvious what the propaganda that is coming out of his office is trying to gear towards.

Yes, Iran has problems. Yes, their people are oppressed. Those are problems to be sorted out within their own country. The US just needs to keep their noses out of other countrys affairs for once. They are doing nothing but increasing support for ahmedinijad and his crew by continueing to harrass Iran.

It's quickly becoming obvious that the USA is trying to start world war 3. We cannot let this happen!

[Milton Bradley]

Quote by: another day God Bush is just enraging. It's so obvious what his plan is, and it's so obvious what the propaganda that is coming out of his office is trying to gear towards. Yes, Iran has problems. Yes, their people are oppressed. Those are problems to be sorted out within their own country. The US just needs to keep their noses out of other countrys affairs for once. They are doing nothing but increasing support for ahmedinijad and his crew by continueing to harrass Iran. It's quickly becoming obvious that the USA is trying to start world war 3. We cannot let this happen!

I have long said they're trying to bring about a battle they can call the battle of Armegeddon.


Just look at the total investment we have on boh sides, and you can pretty much conclude it's going to be quite a fight.


To bad the problem isn't isolated to just Bush, or just the Republicans. Unfortunately, I would tell you this interference, and the players involved go back to at least 1948.

[grandpa]

Quote by: Milton Bradley I have long said they're trying to bring about a battle they can call the battle of Armegeddon. Just look at the total investment we have on boh sides, and you can pretty much conclude it's going to be quite a fight.

That said, I think more are catching on.

Grandpa h.

[Praxius]

Update:



U.S. nuclear report a 'victory' for Iran: Ahmadinejad

A new U.S. intelligence review casting doubt on the White House's assertions that Iran was developing atomic weapons program is a "declaration of victory" for Iran's nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday. The U.S. intelligence report released Monday concluded that Iran had stopped its weapons program in late 2003 and shown no signs since of resuming it, representing a sharp turnaround from a previous intelligence assessment in 2005. "This is a declaration of victory for the Iranian nation against the world powers over the nuclear issue," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people during a visit to Ilam province in western Iran. "This was a final shot to those who, in the past several years, spread a sense of threat and concern in the world through lies of nuclear weapons. "Thanks to your resistance, a fatal shot was fired at the dreams of ill-wishers and the truthfulness of the Iranian nation was once again proved by the ill-wishers themselves." The hardline Iranian leader's comments come as the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, said Iran has been "somewhat vindicated" by the report. "It opens a window of opportunity for Iran now because Iran obviously has been somewhat vindicated in saying they have not been working on a weapons program at least for the last few years," El-Baradei told reporters in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. Meanwhile Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated that the U.S. report's findings undermined Washington's push for a new set of UN sanctions against Iran. Tehran has continued to defy the UN Security Council's resolutions calling for it to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a reactor or a nuclear warhead. Iran has touted the new U.S. intelligence report as vindication of its claims that its nuclear program is peaceful and Iranian officials insist that Washington should take a less hawkish stance and drop attempts to impose new sanctions in light of the report's surprise conclusions. U.S. President George W. Bush defended his approach Tuesday, saying Iran was still dangerous and must be squeezed by international pressure despite the intelligence finding. Comparisons drawn The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a claim denied by Iran, which says its nuclear program aims only to generate electricity. The report immediately drew comparisons with a previous intelligence estimate that critics of the Bush administration have said was used to justify the Iraq war. Prior to the Iraq invasion in March 2003, the White House released and frequently cited portions of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq that claimed Saddam Hussein's government possessed weapons of mass destruction. That information later proved to be false.

What a disgrace.

What also bugs me is Bush hasn't changed his mind and continues on the same path..... Hell, even Chavez listens better then Bush does and accepts when he was wrong..... Bush.... oh hell no, we can't have him admit he was wrong in something.... heavens no.

[Milton Bradley]

Blame religion, as that tends to look like why Bush's blinders are so well secured.


This is why it is dangerous to associate with people who subscribe to their own personal reality. Sometimes, they'll want to share.

[Praxius]

Update:


U.S. President George Bush makes a statement about Iran upon his arrival at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Neb. on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

CTV.ca | Bush keeps up tough talk on Iran's nuclear agenda

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George Bush, trying to keep pressure on Iran, called on Tehran Wednesday to "come clean" about the scope of its nuclear activities or else face diplomatic isolation. Two days after a new intelligence report said that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago, Bush demanded that Tehran detail its previous program to develop nuclear weapons "which the Iranian regime has yet to acknowledge." "The Iranians have a strategic choice to make," he said. "They can come clean with the international community about the scope of their nuclear activities, and fully accept the long-standing offer to suspend their enrichment program and come to the table and negotiate, or they can continue on a path of isolation." The administration is worried that the new National Intelligence Estimate -- representing a consensus of all U.S. spy agencies -- weakens its leverage over Iran and its ability to build global pressure on Tehran to stop its uranium enrichment program. Bush, arriving here on a campaign fundraising trip, said he had consulted with members of his national security team, who gave him a report about what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley have learned in talks during the past several days with their counterparts in Britain, Germany, France and Russia. "These countries understand that the Iranian nuclear issue is a problem, and continues to be a problem and must be addressed," Bush said. Backing the U.S. intelligence community, Bush said he appreciated its work in helping people to understand past and present activities in Iran and helping the administration develop a sound policy. "It is clear from the latest NIE that the Iranian government has more to explain about its nuclear intentions and past actions," Bush said. His statement Wednesday came a day after a news conference called in part to react to the new information on Iran's nuclear activities. Bush's public remarks, coupled with frenzied contacts with world leaders by Bush, Rice and Hadley, show a White House trying to keep the world on board with its hard line against Tehran -- an uphill effort now, according to most analysts. Also Wednesday, the White House said the United States will continue "actively pushing" for a third, tougher round of United Nations sanctions against Iran. Deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said Iran continues to hide information, remains in violation of two U.N. Security Council resolutions, tests ballistic missiles and is enriching uranium. "Anyone who thinks that the threat from Iran has receded or diminished is naive and is not paying attention to the facts," Fratto told reporters flying aboard Air Force One with Bush en route to Nebraska. Fratto disputed Iran's claim that the intelligence estimate was a vindication for Tehran. "I think that's absolutely absurd, and Iran should take no comfort or vindication from the NIE," he said. He rejected calls, since the new report, for the administration to enter into unconditional talks with Iran, something the White House has said it would only do once Tehran stops enriching uranium. Tehran says its nuclear program is only for civilian energy purposes. It says it is allowed to enrich uranium for that reason. Rice, traveling in Africa Wednesday, questioned the openness of the Iranian government after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the new U.S. intelligence review amounted to "a final shot" against Tehran's critics. Rice declined to respond to Ahmadinejad's remark, but told reporters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa that the public release of the NIE showed the administration was committed to transparent democracy, while Iran was not. "I am not going to comment on that comment except to say that what the National Intelligence Estimate shows, and the transparency with which the administration released it, is what it means to live in a democracy and I hope one day that the people of Iran will live in a democracy too," she said. Rice said that the latest U.S. intelligence estimate did not mean that Washington no longer considered Tehran a threat and urged the international community not to back down at the U.N. Security Council on pressuring Iran to halt its activities that could produce the ingredients for an atomic weapon. "It is the very strong view of the administration that the Iranian regime remains a problematic and dangerous regime and that the international community must continue to unite around the Security Council resolutions that have passed," she said. "Iran needs to stop enrichment and reprocessing activities because those enriching and reprocessing activities permit, if they are perfected, a state to acquire fissile material for a nuclear weapon," Rice said.

The only "problematic and dangerous regime" at this stage is the US. The continual twisting of information and avoiding the facts is beyond a PO.

They can push for all the UN sanctions they want, but if anybody has half a brain leading other nations they'll leave the US high and dry on this matter.

Iran has claimed from the begining they were not seeking weapons and they're not, to me that's about as straight forward and honest as you can get on the matter. They want nuclear energy, which is their very right to do so under the treaty in which they originally signed, thefore the US / Bush have no place to say or tell Iran what they can and can not do, esspecially now that the evidence proves they are not a threat.

"Oh but they were trying to get nukes and they very well could try again in the future!" Like OMG! Hell with that Logic Canada could as well since we have so much uranium at our disposal.... let's bomb Canada!

F'ing crack pot nut jobs the entire lot of them.

[Milton Bradley]

Also, I have yet to see one of them attempt to address why their long held theory of Mutally Assured Destruction fails them at this juncture.


I guess it has a lot to do with who was supplying those nuclear enemies in the past.

[Chancellor]

What exactly is a "plithora" anyway?

[Praxius]

replace the I with an E..... it's not like I have the ability to correct my subject heading, but it should be quite obvious. It's a debate forum, not an english class.

Also, you can atrribute it to my accent if you like.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Praxius replace the I with an E..... it's not like I have the ability to correct my subject heading

But that would require me to read into your post.

, but it should be quite obvious. It's a debate forum, not an english class. Also, you can atrribute it to my accent if you like.

There is no excuse for native Anglophones with at least a middle school education to spell poorly.

But getting to the topic of the thread, the United States and the rest of the world need to all butt out of Iran's internal affairs.