U.S. National Intelligence Estimate: Iran Halted Nuclear Weapons Program in 2003
December 4th, 2007“Brzezinski’s testimony indicates to me that the expansion of the conflict into Iran might not be allowed to happen. Don’t ask me how it will be stopped, but he is the mouthpiece of the people who run this show, not in appearance, but in fact.”
—Cryptogon: Zbigniew Brzezinski Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
That Brzezinski episode still takes the cake. The veil between worlds became thin on that one.
Via: Globe and Mail:
Despite months of sabre-rattling by U.S. President George W. Bush, America’s top spies have concluded that Tehran’s ruling mullahs may not want a finger on the nuclear trigger after all.
As recently as October, Mr. Bush was hinting at air strikes against Iran’s secretive and mostly underground nuclear sites, warning that averting World War III meant preventing Tehran from tipping its missiles with nuclear warheads.
So a key finding in yesterday’s National Intelligence Estimate, that Iran shut down its nuclear weapons program four years ago, was unexpected and may avert a showdown.
The Bush administration was quick to claim success, saying U.S.-led pressure on Tehran had pushed Iran to stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
…
It would be the middle of the next decade before any restarted weapons program could tip a missile with a warhead, the report adds.
This “revelation” also changes the nature of the US Presidential contest, allowing, I would think, the focus on “security” to take a back burner to domestic issues, always the strong suite of the “left” (i.e., “good cop”). More evidence that “They” want a Democrat, preferably Hillary, it seems, in the White House.
Well, Vladmir Putin was dropping less-than-subtle hints that he and his buds who rule Russia would consider a US attack on Iran to be an attack on Russia also; so it appears there are now finally enough people in both the top brass of the military and the establishment power-structure who know what is what to make it very unlikely that the Mad Hatters in the Oval Office will get their way on this one.
And so it begins:
shrunklink.com/agcn
that article doesn’t specifically mention the Iran saga, but its prominent place at MarketWatch.com is timed to perfection.
also this: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/us/politics/04campaign.html?ref=middleeast
among others at the NY Times
For whatever reason, the Democrats have been given a gift.
The Democrats function to smooth and normalize the outrages of the other corporate party; a kinder, gentler Bush-lite.
Lewis Black put it better: The Republicans are the party of bad ideas and the Democrats are the party of no ideas.
Yeah, I remember that; prescient call.
Perhaps the top brass really has no interest in witnessing US response when the “chips” are down.
http://www.willthomasonline.net/
willthomasonline/Faulty_Chips.html
Naa, I disagree that this is a good thing. In a normal world it would be a good thing, but normality left the building a long time ago.
Neocon plan A – Lie about Iran’s nukes, so you can nuke Iran.
Neocon plan B – so you can nuke Iran.
?????? could well be another 9/11 type event.
One theory of mine (I try to be positive – its getting very difficult these days) is that there are still enough ‘good guys’ in the US system that if the Neocons did try and do a Dr Strangelove, then the good guys would finally stand up. Is the no-Nuke intell report an example of the good guys saying enough is enough? Where the missing US nukes that turned up again another example of this?
BTW, my gut reaction to Annapolis was (and still is) that this is a prelude to something very nasty. Pretend to make peace to prepare for war, its a very old trick. The Israel defense & foreign minister had closed door talks with the US DoD at the same time. Hummmmmmmmmm