Laura Rozen put up a link to this PDF report about Iran from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence earlier today,
Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States.
Given the track record of Bush + The Rubber-Stamp Congress on these sorts of reports, I think it's worthwhile to examine this one closely. I take a tiny stab at such examination below and offer the diary as a place for others to share their thoughts.
Here's one from the very beginning of the report (boldface added
to attract your attention):
The seriousness of the Iranian threat has been amplified by the recent rocket attacks against Israel by the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which, according to press accounts, has received as many as 10,000 rockets from Iran.
I find it curious that a House Intelligence Committee cites New York Times articles (1 2) in support of this. Not that I don't trust the Times, mind you--just that, well, those articles can't be the only unclassified data the Committee has on this, right? Right?
From the first bullet point of the Summary:
Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte has stated that Iran will not be "in a position to have a nuclear weapon" until "sometime between the beginning of the next decade and the middle of the next decade".
Also from the first bullet point of the Summary:
The U.S. Intelligence Community believes that Tehran probably has not yet produced or acquired the fissile material (weapons-grade nuclear fuel) needed to produce a nuclear weapon;
Also from the first bullet point of the Summary:
Iran has conducted a clandestine uranium enrichment program for nearly two decades in violation of its International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards agreement, and despite its claims to the contrary, Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.
If anyone in the media bothers to report on this House Committee document, which chunk of the first Summary bullet point do you suppose will get the emphasis? Hint: "Already, the Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations. Had we failed to act, the dictatator's weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day."
Speaking of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities--the next two bullet points in the report Summary:
- Iran likely has an offensive chemical weapons research and development capability.
- Iran probably has an offensive biological weapons program.
Anyway, you can tell from my emphasis on the Summary that I haven't read too far into the document. I'll get to the rest of it in due time (as I'm sure others-more-knowledgeable will, as well).