Intel Officials: NIE Estimate Lacks Supporting Evidence-Possibly Politicized(Larisa Alexandrovna)

[kpete]

National Intelligence Estimate lacks supporting evidence, possibly politicized, intelligence officials say Larisa Alexandrovna
Published: Wednesday July 25, 2007

Iran may be focus of Hezbollah spotlight

Current and former intelligence officials say the Bush Administration's National Intelligence Estimate regarding terrorist threats to the United States does not provide evidence to support its assertions and may have inflated the domestic threat posed by the Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah, perhaps because it receives financial support from Iran.

According to the report, Hezbollah – a Shi's Muslim group with ties to Iran that has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States – may target the US domestically if the US poses a serious threat to Iran. But sources say the allegations about Hezbollah were simply "thrown in."

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US foreign policy and approach to terrorism is based on political decisions, which then trickle down inadvertently or in some cases, surreptitiously, into intelligence analysis

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Sources familiar with the information contained in the NIE have described what appears to be myriad allegations with little evidence to back up specific claims, including the assertion that Al Qaeda has regrouped or that it spawned a sub-group called Al Qaeda in Iraq. While none claim the report is patently wrong, they take umbrage with the way the document was compiled.

more at:
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/National_Intelligence_Estimate_sloppy_and_possibly_0725.html

[burythehatchet]

1. OMG this is so shocking

:P

[bigtree]

2. everyone could see that this report was more tilted toward the administration

especially given the last one's criticism of the occupation for fostering and enhancing terrorism in Iraq.