Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Bush continues to spin the NIE report

(784 words)
by Goudarz Eghtedari
The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report regarding Iran’s Nuclear Intentions and capabilities was released on Monday. It states that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and has not pursued it since then. As we know now, that is about the same time frame during which Iran offered a great bargain to the Bush Administration via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. According to Flynt Leverett, the Senior Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council (2002-3), and Richard Armitage, the Deputy Secretary of State (2001-2005), that proposal was ignored and rejected under pressure from the Vice President’s office.

The NIE report on Iran was held back for more than a year in an effort to force the intelligence community to remove dissenting judgments on the Iranian nuclear program. ...
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Dr. Goudarz Eghtedari is active with the American Iranian Friendship Council (www.aifcpdx.org ) and produces "Voices of the Middle East" (http://www.voicesofthemiddleeast.com/ ) for KBOO Community Radio in Portland, Oregon.

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