http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/iran-not-committed-to-building-nuclear.html
Saturday, January 16, 2010 Informed Comment
Iran Not Committed to Building Nuclear Bomb, Pentagon Intel Chief Says
NTI: Global Security Newswire - Iran Not Committed to Building Nuclear
Bomb, Pentagon Intel Chief Says
U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Chief Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess said,
"The bottom line assessments of the [National Intelligence Estimate]
still hold true," Burgess said. "We have not seen indication that the
government has made the decision to move ahead with the program."
Gen. Burgess's views are even more sanguine than those of retired
Israeli Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam, who puts an Iranian nuclear
warhead at least 7 years out and calls current Israel officials who
talk about an Iranian nuke within the year 'ridiculous,' asking
"where's the proof?' Eilam is former director-general of Israel's
Atomic Energy Commission.
The Times of London reports that Eilam considers the discourse on Iran
in Israel 'hysterical' and says that it results from the country's
military-industrial complex trying for a bigger budget or attempts by
politicians to divert attention from domestic problems.
Bingo!
The US intelligence establishment can't even see evidence for a nuclear
weapon program at all, meaning that the time line is rather longer than
7 years.
Unfortunately, a lot of Burgess's colleagues, under political pressure,
appear ready to cave to the hawks and Neocons on this issue in the next
National Intelligence Estimate. Laura Rozen says they will shift to
saying Iran may be doing experiments with weapons implications, without
saying there is a weapons program, but the military-media complex in
the US and Israel will deliberately miss the distinction.
posted by Juan Cole @ 1/16/2010 05:06:00 PM