U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran is years away from building nukes

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran is several years away from being able to produce enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon, the nation's chief intelligence analyst said Thursday.

The nation's 16 intelligence agencies haven't changed their view of Iran's capability, said Thomas Fingar, chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

That's despite Iran's announcement Tuesday that it had mastered the ability to enrich uranium for a civilian nuclear reactor, raising the possibility it could make a bomb.

"Our timeline hasn't changed," said Fingar, a top analyst for intelligence chief John Negroponte.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-14-iran-nukes_x.htm

[saltpoint]

1. Did this source offer a public comment on Iraq's Weapons of Mass

Destruction, too, or is this one sticking out as the exception?

It would be interesting to know, since I distrust the Bush administration's truthfulness.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Gee, someone better tell that to Mr. Chucklepants in the WhiteHouse.

He is wetting his diapers thinking the bombs are going to be ready next week.

[madeline_con]

3. "Our timeline hasn't changed,"

Let the destruction commence. :puke:

[HuffleClaw]

4. i guess chimpy will need a new excuse for war

since the military is about ready to lynch rumsfeld and the intel folks aren't gonna let them play an 'imminant threat' game.

[MellowOne]

26. Let's hope they don't do another 9/11

And blame it on Iran....

[lovuian]

5. Boy after the generals all went after Rumsy Bush has backed

off...

I see them going Israel you do it and Israel goes No you do it!!!

[Child_Of_Isis]

6. Yeah, but they can THINK about building a bomb!

That's good enough for these warmongers.

[splat@14]

7. They must still be shopping for aluminum tubes and baking yellow cake

[paparush]

8. But, they wear the same clothes as the Terruhisties...and they

worship that Allah fake-god..and they've got mobile weapons labs...and uh..they don't believe in the Easter Bunny...and ah....mmmmm...er....

[katinmn]

9. A month or so ago everyone was saying 10 years

before Iran could have deployable weapons.

So somebody is lying again.

[0007]

10. ...and just yesterday it was sixteen days and Iran would be on the

way to hog heaven.

[donkeyotay]

12. That was just an installment on what Merca will soon "all know."

Millions saw the "16 days" and saw nothing to retract that misinformation. They still believe it's true. They put propaganda out there, and then back off. They put it out, and back off. They test with polls - yes, a slim majority already support war. Soon, it will be the prevailing wisdom, and nobody will be aware of how it became the only reasonable position, the thing we all "know."

[TheBaldyMan]

18. but that 'report' was a fiction. n/t

[Sapere aude]

14. They need a delivery system. I don't think they have that yet.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. What, they don't have UPS there?

No FedEx?

How do they get their stuff from eBay?

[Bob K]

11. All this noise........

.........is merely a distraction to pull eyes away from all the failed piles of doo-doo that this regime has already produced. What an insult to our collective intelligences that they think we can forget that fast!
The Dub Club's IQ average sinks ever lower as the days roll on. :dunce:

[annabanana]

13. Don't let this get buried on page 22 below the fold!!

Make sure this is shouted some...

(little bits of this kind of info buried by the corpomedia gives them an "out" when the intelligence reports turn out to be true...and the paper says well... we reported it...)

[savemefromdumbya]

15. the experts said 10 years away - it's Cheney's imagination

however, Israel have the nukes

[electron_blue]

16. The IAEA said Iraq had no WMD in Jan 2003 and that didn't stop Bush

Pay attention folks! This is Deja Vu all over again.

[EVDebs]

17. What does the Mossad say ? Will they speed up the timelines ?

Is Mutual Assured Destruction a potential policy option in the Middle East ? If your first strike is your last, are the Iranians as 'trustworthy' as the Israelis or Americans, Indians, Pakistanis, for that matter ?

[oblivious]

27. Israeli Top Brass Not Convinced About Iran's Nuclear Might

...In interviews in the Israeli media and on the radio, two of Israel's most senior military commanders said they believed Iran was still a long way from producing a nuclear weapon.

...Speaking on Israel's Army Radio this morning, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said the international community should not see Iran's uranium enrichment as the significant breakthrough Iran's leaders were making it out to be.

"The Iranians aren't there yet. It will take them time before they achieve nuclear capability," he said. "I think things will change in this process and we shouldn't see this as a foregone conclusion."

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=1834353&page=1

[spooked911]

19. Stop! Wait! I've heard this one before!

But somehow Bushco is going go and tell the same joke again...

[haab]

20. The puppet BLAIR will jump in soon...

.. and squeal:

"They already have the bomb and can launch it against us in 30 days time. We need to act now now now!!!!"

[Chomp]

29. No - Blair won't bite on this. No way.

[spanone]

21. Shhhhh, hey that WMD thing worked once!

[cyrusthegreat]

22. Doesn't Matter When Cheney's Got His Daughter Pushing an Agenda

Caught this article on Fiat lux's blog ... looks like Cheney's creating a new Office of Special Plans



REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN....Remember the White House Iraq Group? And the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans? Basically, they were organizations designed to sidestep the moldy old national security bureaucracy and market the war with Iraq directly to the American public. And while in retrospect some may have questioned their, um, dedication to precise and sober analysis, you can't deny they were effective.

Well, guess what?

Lawrence Kaplan reports that we now have a similar organization for Iran:

http://freedomforiranians.blogspot.com/2006/04/regime-change-in-iran.html

Something's going on people ... the expatriate community in Washington is all abuzz with talk of various people providing intelligence to the administration ... are we looking at the Chalabi class of 2006 ???

[hvn_nbr_2]

24. Someone sane trying to head off Chimpie Strangelove at the pass? nt

[sojourner]

25. it's time for the talking heads to start mentioning this, no?

[renaissanceguy]

28. Well then it's off to war we go.

Sounds eerily familiar to 2003....


http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues

[obiwan]

30. I saw this on the Freeper site...

... in response to an article advocating attacking Iran:

To: West Coast Conservative
I wonder what this reporter said when Clinton was negotiating with Kim Jong-Il, giving him American aid, and lobbing cruise missiles at camels ?


My answer:

This reporter said, "Well, at least he doesn't currently have any nuclear warheads or long-range missiles."