White House Reaction to Iran Report

[spanone]

~snip~

Here is the text of a statement issued today by Stephen Hadley, President Bush’s national security adviser, concerning the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The intelligence estimate says that, contrary to previous assessments, Iran halted the program in 2003 in response to international pressure and has probably not restarted it since then, though it has the capacity to do so.

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. It tells us that we have made progress in trying to ensure that this does not happen.

But the intelligence also tells us that the risk of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a very serious problem. 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 bottom line is this: for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran — with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions, and with other financial pressure — and Iran has to decide it wants to negotiate a solution.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/world/04irantext.html

[underpants]

1. AlertLurker's post earlier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3087773&mesg_id=3087863

[Mountainman]

2. The * administration should just STFU about Iran and let the incoming Dem President deal with them.

Iran is not a threat to me nor was Iraq or Syria or any other nation the PNAC'ers wanted to go to war with.

[rzemanfl]

3. Huh? They want them to stop doing what they aren't doing? n/t

[rurallib]

4. and if they don't - we nuke 'em!

[HCE SuiGeneris]

11. ...

:beer: :spray: :spank: Keyboard ruiner! :grr:

[Disturbed]

6. The Busholini Regime has been caught in another Big Lie.

Iran is an Oil Competitor so the Multi-Corps want the US Military to over throw the Iranian Regime
to control the Oil Flow & stop Iranian power in the ME. It's all in the PNAC. Go read it.

[LSparkle]

10. Toucha Toucha Toucha Touch Me KKKarl must have written Hadley's speech

It has the same lying, delusional, "nothing to see here, move along" tone as Roverat's musings of late.

[rzemanfl]

13. Sorry, I let logic overwhelm me there for a minute. n/t

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

7. This is the same administration that said if Saddam didn't have WMDs...

It was up to HIM to prove he didn't have them.

So this isn't a surprise.

[Hieronymus]

5. Seems that Hillary and others were quick to assume that Iran was

pursuing nuclear.

[Hamlette]

8. WH has known contents of report for a year

#

This NIE was apparently finished a year ago, and its basic parameters were almost certainly common knowledge in the White House well before that. This means that all the leaks, all the World War III stuff, all the blustering about the IAEA — all of it was approved for public consumption after Cheney/Bush/Rice/etc. knew perfectly well it was mostly baseless.

#

Why were the key judgments finally released? Cheney didn't want them released, Bush surely didn't want them released, and DNI Mike McConnell told Congress a few weeks ago that he didn't want them released. So who did?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_12/012623.php

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

12. The "good" guys?

:shrug:

Perhaps, it's a sign that Cheney's propaganda machine isn't running as well as it used to.

[Blashyrkh]

9. So basically, the position hasn't changed?

[AlertLurker]

14. The KEY: "the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran"

IF the WH actually admits that Iran has given up pursuing a nuclear weapon since 2003, then which of the following will be said to be true?

a] Sanctions have obviously worked, as Iran has stopped attempting to acquire nuclear weapons.

OR

b] Sanctions were superfluous and punitive, given Iran had already stopped attempting to acquire nuclear weapons.


Wanna bet which tack the WH will take?

It's only one short step to "WAR IS PEACE; FREEDOM IS SLAVERY; IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH..."

[catnhatnh]

15. Turn UP the Pressure???

If we told them to stop, and then they did stop, and continued to stay stopped for 4 years even while the whole time we continued to increase pressure then I believe we should A. Apologize and B. Rachet back pressure, and C. Send "Im-Mad-Ina-Head a case of Scotch....Just because that is what a sane and honorable person (or nation) would do.