Stunning: U.S. Report Says Iran Shelved Nuke Program Years Ago

New York Times:

A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.

The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to reshape the final year of the Bush administration, which has made halting Iran's nuclear program a cornerstone of its foreign policy.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[onemorepissedman]

12:59 AM on 12/07/2007

Hey STUPID KEVIN OF SEVEN,,,,,,,,,,,

iF YOU THINK THERE IS NO WAR WAGED ON THE STREETS OF OUR CITIES, YOU LIVE IN A fucking cloud!

[HumeSkeptic]

11:24 AM on 12/04/2007

On a lighter note, this really makes that little French warmonger Sarkozy look like a total buffoon, doesn't it?

First Cecelia, and now Bush does it to him.

Poor Sarkozy, he was so eager to bomb Iran.

[HumeSkeptic]

11:20 AM on 12/04/2007

Iran couldn't back off because they cannot say that they halted a nuclear weapons program that they have claimed never existed.

Bush couldn't back off after declaring them "evil" and pressuring leaders around the world to punish Iran through sanctions, and threats of bombing.

How independent are the people putting together the NIE document?

Could this be a way to help Bush back off from another quagmire he was going to create?

Is it too optimistic to think that some cooler heads have somehow prevailed over the NeoCons in this Administration, and are giving them a way out?

I think U.S. actions in the coming weeks and months will shed more light on this.

[kay]

11:06 AM on 12/04/2007

"Several of those involved in preparing the new assessment said that when intelligence officials began briefing senior members of the Bush administration on the intercepts, beginning in July, the policymakers expressed skepticism. Several of the president's top advisers suggested the intercepts were part of a clever Iranian deception campaign, the officials said."

[HumeSkeptic]

10:52 AM on 12/04/2007

Iranians are imprudent to have stopped their nuclear weapons program before Bush leaves office, if in fact they have stopped it completely.

Given the fact that having a nuclear weapon is the only defense against a power power calling them evil, and hell bent on bombing them, and with a mass-murdering warmonger at the helm of that super power, this is not prudent.

What are they thinking? Do they have a secret pact with Russia or China?

To those who argue that Bush's actions in Iraq and Afganistan made Iranians stop their nuclear weapons research, get a life.

The only lesson the world has learnt from those wars is that U.S. is impotent. U.S has been unable to defeat that super power on horsebacks called Taliban for six years. And U.S has failed to control Iraq, a defenseless country, and a much smaller country than Iran, after almost four years.

As Putin has warned U.S. in the past - "If you think Iranians are afraid of you, think again".

[kay]

10:44 AM on 12/04/2007

And then there's this. This is a problem. Just the President's daily, weekly and yearly problem, which is credibility. His complete and utter lack of it.

The Washington Post:

"President Bush got the world's attention this fall when he warned that a nuclear-armed Iran might lead to World War III. But his stark warning came at least a month or two after he had first been told about fresh indications that Iran had actually halted its nuclear weapons program."

[Nonamnesiac]

10:42 AM on 12/04/2007

The consequences of the new NIE are quite profound, if Americans are willing to learn its lessons. It means that China, Russia, Ahmadinejad, France, etc. were right on Iran and our policies were badly wrong. The fact the NIE found this out now does not mean it was untrue prior to their making this finding. It means that other countries and the UN, who kept saying that Iran was not developing nuclear weapons or were far from developing them had it right, while we were pursuing a war course.

It means that once again Hillary wrongly backed Bush when she voted for Kyl-Lieberman, as were most of the Senate Democrats -- that her limited world view means she is unqualified to be President.

Unfortunately, this is being handled as a "gotcha" by Dems who went right along with the warmongering policy. Just as Dems continue to support the war by funding it, even after virtually all of the reasons we went into Iraq have been debunked as lies, they will probably support an aggressive campaign against Iran, despite the facts.

Although I support Kucinich, who's always correct on the issus, for those who have some need to support supposedly mainstream candidates (mainstream means usually gets it wrong, but in sync with the corporate bought media), they really need to look closely at -- and support --Richardson. He's the only mainstream candidate who's consistently correct on these issues and has the ability to look at and understand the viewpoints of others, and know when they're right and when they're wrong, without committing us to stupid wars, as Hillary, with her limited world view, would.

[kay]

10:33 AM on 12/04/2007

Either Iran responded to leverage, and Hadley was wrong, or US conservatives over-stated the threat, and Hadley was wrong.

Is there some reason Hadley still works for us?

Aren't we way past firing here?

How many times does he get to be wrong?

[ZHarris]

10:32 AM on 12/04/2007

Of course, this whole issue would be diminished if we abandoned our foolhardy goals of generating electricity through nuclear fission and stopped promoting this dangerous technology world wide at the behest of GE.

[ajax2]

09:36 AM on 12/04/2007

Who cares what the NIE said. If your plan is to kill some Iranians in a preemptive strike, WH and PNAC, it doesn't matter what the threat is.

[Mutineer]

09:27 AM on 12/04/2007

"Facts are a stupid thing!"

-R. Raygun

[ms.understood]

09:11 AM on 12/04/2007

Why anyone would believe anything this animal has to say is beyond me. They have spent their entire time in the White House lying and I'm just not understanding why they are still in office. I always change the channel whenever I see him on the station because I just don't want to be exposed to one more lie by this jackass administration. Enough already!!

[jpshotwheels]

09:08 AM on 12/04/2007

This is great thing, the news is out, Iran is not after the Weapon, they are after the energy it produces. If American would wake up and learn more about other Countries and their problems, they would realize Iran has its problems to, and they are not dis-similar to our own.

I was watching a documentary on the Iran this weekend, one of their biggest problems is pollution in Tehran. It is a huge city in a Valley surrounded by Mountains, the pollution gets trapped, very similar to LA & Denver, with lots and lots of automobiles. They are trying to come up with an alternative cleaner energy, it may not be safer, but it is a temporary solution, to address Global Warming also.

We do not need to go to War with this Country. If Bush strikes at Iran after this report comes out, Shame on Him forever, and I don't want to see any Mission Accomplished Banners. Iran, immediately after 9/11, sympathized and forgave the U.S. of what they did, before to Iran. They were one of our biggest supporters, and we treat them like this, an Axis of Evil, and we wonder why they don't like us. Read some real history about the Iran/Iraq War - Iran Contra Affair.

Lets pray he doesn't strike anyway.

[BuffaloMeridian]

09:06 AM on 12/04/2007

"IRAN SHELVES NUKES; WHITE HOUSE DISAPPOINTED"
"VP says excuse for war will be found"

"We have talented people working diligently, combing the pages of The Weekly Standard, the National Review, Tom Friedman's columns" said Mr. Cheney, known to speak frankly, "and I sincerely believe that they will soon discover a plausible rationale, that the public will swallow, mind you, for attacking Iran sometime prior the Republican National Convention."

[SouthpawSass]

09:02 AM on 12/04/2007

Well George, you know the ole saying, "Payback's a bitch!"... And something tells me the CIA is feeling a bit giddy...