Are we suppose to believe that the Director of National Intelligence told the President (and Commander in Chief) that there was new information about the nuclear program of the nation considered to be the number one threat to world peace, and the President did not ask for more information? How stupid do they think we are. Well, Bush is still President, so we must be stupid enough.

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      A “new” National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) of Iran’s nuclear program(s) has been released, and it is easy to understand why the Bush Administration has been holding it up for almost a year. They don’t like what it says.

      This latest NIE, which represents the consensus opinion of the sixteen intelligence agencies of the U.S. Government, says that Iran stopped its nuclear weapon program back in 2003 and has not restarted it. This contradicts everything the Bush Administration and its scribes in the media have been telling us about Iran, and conjures up memories of their push for war with Iraq.

      On Fox News’ Special Report with Brit Hume (4/3/06), Roll Call executive editor Mort Kondracke cited anonymous experts to claim that Iran “will be able to have enough fissile material of their own making for a bomb some time next summer, summer 2007.” Before the Iraq War, Kondracke called the Iraqi foreign minister a liar for claiming that Iraq had no nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

      MSNBC political analyst Monica Crowley claimed that Iran “may already have” nuclear weapons (Scarborough Country, 4/17/07). Before the Iraq War, she claimed, “[W]e do know that Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction [including a ‘nascent nuclear capability’].”

      Fox News’ John Gibson distorted a statement from a Russian military officer to suggest that Iran will “have the bomb literally any minute.” (Fox News’ The Big Story, 4/5/07) Before the Iraq War, Gibson scoffed at Iraq’s claim that they did not have any WMDs.

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 ·        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.-- Kevin Drum, Washington Monthly, 12/3/07

 
·        “… Iran has not stepped back from trying to pursue a nuclear weapon, and--or reprocessing and enriching uranium, which would lead to a nuclear weapon.”--White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, 10/26/07

 
·        “We’re in a position now, clearly, especially when we look at Iran, where it’s very, very important we succeed in our efforts, our national security efforts, to discourage the Iranians from enriching uranium and producing nuclear weapons.”--Vice President Dick Cheney, 11/9/07

 
·        “We are convinced that they are developing nuclear weapons.” [Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, 11/13/07]

     Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell knew that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program when he told the Senate Armed Services Committee (2/27/07) that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon by early next decade. McConnell didn’t bother to mention that the intelligence agencies of the U.S. Government believed that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program four years earlier. It might have distracted from his central message: “We assess that Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon.”

      Now that the Bush Administration’s justification for bombing Iran has been refuted by its own intelligence agencies, the President held one of his rare press conferences (12/4/07) to explain how the cessation of Iran’s nuclear weapon program just proves that he’s been right all along and shows how dangerous Iran really is:

 ·        “…I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program. They halted the program. And the reason why it’s a warning signal is that they could restart it.” (and if pigs had wings, they could fly)

 
·        “Look, Iran was dangerous. Iran is dangerous. And Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

 
·        “I think the NIE makes it clear that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace. My opinion hasn’t changed.”

 ...and that is why America can’t get out of the mess we are in:

 
“I’m not going to change, see? I’m not trying to accommodate. I won’t change my philosophy or my point of view.”--George W. Bush on Meet the Press, quoted in Slate, 2/8/04

·        “I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right.”--George W. Bush, 7/22/01, quoted in The Complete Bushisms

      If George W. Bush had any credibility left at the start of his press conference, he erased it by claiming he had only learned the contents of the NIE the week before. Then, Bush made himself even less believable (if that is possible) by recalling that his Director of National Intelligence did mentioned to him in August that there was some new information about Iran’s nuclear program, but didn’t tell him what the information was.

      Are we suppose to believe that the Director of National Intelligence told the President (and Commander in Chief) that there was new information about the nuclear program of the nation considered to be the number one threat to world peace, and the President did not ask for more information?

      Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman and presidential candidate Joe Biden (D-DE) expressed the sentiments of many people:

 ·        “That’s not believable. I refuse to believe that. If that’s true, [Bush] has the most incompetent staff in American, modern American history and he’s one of the most incompetent presidents in modern American history.”

      Biden is too kind. The decision-makers in the Bush Administration are not stupid or incompetent. They are megalomaniacal sociopaths who mean to control the world’s oil reserves and create an American empire; and they are not going to let a little good news about Iran’s lack of nuclear weapons stop them from pursuing their agenda. The right-wing noise machine has already started its attack on the NIE and its authors. The Drums of War haven’t missed a beat.

      So, don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning and hear that Iran has attacked some American war ship that was just peacefully cruising around in the Persian Gulf. Outraged by this unprovoked atrocity (real or imaginary), our “representatives” in Congress will fall all over themselves to grant more unconstitutional powers to George W. Bush, so he can open up another front in his never-ending War On Terror and fight it--unrestrained by the laws of God or man.

      I don’t know how to stop the Bush Administration from escalating their wars in the Mideast. Congress has refused to use the appropriate Constitutional remedy--impeachment; and they continue to fund Mr. Bush’s wars for fear of being labeled “soft on terrorism” or accused of “not supporting the troops”. They have failed the American people and have allowed George W. Bush to make America the most hated nation on earth.

      All we can do is to continue to contact our representatives in Congress (202-224-3121) and demand that they end the war and bring our troops home. If they hear from enough voters, they might do something for fear of being kicked off the gravy train.

Authors Bio:

Mick Youther is an American citizen, an independent voter, a veteran, a parent, a scientist, a writer, and all-around nice guy who has been roused from a comfortable apathy by the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush Administration.