US Intel: Iran Halted Nuke Work In 2003
Take that, Israel, you shitty little state. Now their only option is a false flag attack, but this time, everybody's watching. This article is from ICH.
By Ray Locker and Richard Willing
12/03/07 "USA TODAY" -- -- WASHINGTON — Iran ceased its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and has not resumed work toward building nuclear weapons, a National Intelligence Estimate released Monday said.
The estimate, reflecting the collective judgment of the nation's 16 intelligence agencies, also concludes that Tehran likely is "keeping open the option" to develop nuclear weapons in the future by continuing to build missiles and pursue a civilian nuclear power program.
The estimate reverses claims made two years ago that Iran appeared "determined to develop" a nuclear weapons program.
"Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the report said. "Our assessment that the program probably was halted primarily in response to international pressure suggests Iran may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged previously."
President Bush was briefed on the findings Wednesday. The Bush administration, which has vigorously claimed Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, called the estimate good news, although it undercut some of the administration's claims.
"Today's National Intelligence Estimate offers some positive news," national security adviser Stephen Hadley said in a prepared statement. "It confirms that we were right to be worried about Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons. It tells us that we have made progress in trying to ensure that this does not happen."
The estimate also concluded with "moderate-to-high confidence" that Iran has not obtained enough materials from abroad to build a nuclear weapon. Iran, the report said, has probably imported some "fissionable" material, such as uranium, to develop a weapon.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly insisted that his nation's nuclear program is aimed only at developing a power source for civil society.
The report also said:
— The earliest Iran could assemble enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb is late 2009, although that is "very unlikely."
— Iran would be capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb in the 2010-2015 time frame.
— Iran is developing the scientific capabilities to create a bomb if it chooses to do so. For example, its "civilian uranium enrichment program" is continuing.
— Iran retains the "scientific, technical and industrial capacity" to produce nuclear weapons in the future if its leaders decide to.
Silvestre Reyes, D-Tex, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called the about face on Iran's nuclear program a "remarkable shift." He vowed to question intelligence officials closely about the classfied sources upon which they based their judgment.
Intelligence officials who helped prepare the estimate made no apologies for overlooking that the weapons program had been halted in the 2005 NIE. The officials said new information indicates that the Iranians halted their secret program in late 2003, less than 12 months before the 2005 estimates was prepared. New information causing the intelligence agencies to conclude that the program had been halted continued to be evaluated until a few weeks ago.
In 2007, the Iranian government allowed some journalists to visit a nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz. U.S. intelligence officials viewed photographs the journalists made and concluded that Tehran continues to face "significant technical problems" in using the facility to enrich uranium.
The estimate said officials lack sufficient intelligence to "judge confidently" whether Iran plans to re-start its weapons program.
Iran's decision to halt the program was "guided by a cost-benefit approach" that took into account the "political, economic and military costs" of continuing in the face of world scrutiny and possible sanctions.
Continued pressure, combined with "opportunities" for Iran to obtain prestige and regional influence without a weapons program, might encourage Tehran to continue the current halt.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released about 2 1/2 pages of the NIE's declassified "key judgments." The full estimate is about 140 pages.
can be found at commondreams.org
I agree - a false flag is their only option. Although according to the common dreams article, Stephen Hadley seems to think that notwithstanding the report, Iran is still a clear and present threat.
zionists are shameless - they'll claim it's night in broad daylight.
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"Money" has no value - people do.
This is a good article about Mordechai Vanunu and Israel's nukes. Fucking hypocrites.
According to Jane’s Intelligence report, the US Government Accountability Office reported on August 1, 2007 that more than 1,400 parts unique to the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft were sold to Iran through publicly available channels in February 2007.
The USA sold F-14s to the Shah in the 1970s. The USA itself stopped using F-14s in late 2006,, and paid contractors hundreds of millions of dollars to dismantle the planes and destroy their parts.
Instead, the parts were sold to Iran. Thus, the contractors made millions from U.S. taxpayers, and millions more from parts sales.
And the Bush regime knows all about it.
Sweet.
This is great for the morale of U.S. military personnel, aye? They might be ordered to attack a nation that the USA continues to arm.
Source
Bush says Iran is still a threat, military action is still “on the table,” and sanctions will still go forward because of Iran’s (non-existent) nuclear weapons program.
He said Iran is dangerous because Iran might one day consider starting a nuclear weapons program.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates agreed.
Source: New York Times
Like most people, I have positive feeling about political ramifications of this report too. But technically speaking, this 'new' assessment could be equally meaningless as accusing Iran of being making the bomb.
Despite not having technical expertise, I always assumed that nuclear based applications (medicine, chemistry, analytical method development, power generation, weaponry, ...) are branches off a main nuclear technology platform (main tree trunk). And NPT's job was to make sure when the tree trunk goes high enough off the ground, no weaponry branch shoots off or grafted to the main trunk.
Israel had to steal, Pakistan and India had to import the main technology platform. Not having either options, Iran has been nurturing domestic competency and because of that the tree trunk is only a few feet off the ground and not ready for any branching.
Portraying that weaponry program could have existed independent from the main technology platform, would be as meaningless as claiming Iran stopped (what she could have not had) it in 2003.
So I think this publicized report is most likely a political move (rather than intelligence evaluation), probably by those who are realizing the whole mess in ME is a trap for america, sinking it one million dollars a minute to the slavery of mongurk bankers.
(I really think we should press the 'Delete' key on our debt account to the bankers, arguing that your money is digital and you loaned us digitally and we pay you back digitally.)
I told you folks Iran did it the smart way, they bought theirs back in the fire sale days of the former Soviet Union. The so called nuclear program was thin cover to make them look homegrown like Pakistan's was.
As long as ziostan threatens the world with nuclear weapons that it may or may not have, every nation in the region should do what they can to arm themselves with "appropriate" countermeasures.
ABSOLUTELY.....click.
(you should put one of those square check boxes under the two lines, which says: Do not ask me again. Automatically delete until Iraq war ends.)