Richard Whalen

An anti-war intelligence consensus within the Pentagon was at last made public December 3rd when a dramatically revised National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), representing the collective judgment of 16 spy agencies, declared “with high confidence” that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003 and admitted that “we do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons.”

This entirely legal yet invisible military-led political resistance was led by the National Intelligence Council Director, Admiral Mike McConnell, and his team of crack analysts, backed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. These patriotic and dedicated professionals of the military intelligence community opposed the Bush-Cheney rush to war with Iran. At the risk of their careers, they have now forced the White House to face the facts. Congress mandated the release of this assessment despite White House foot-dragging. The NIE contradicts the Bush-Cheney line that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States

The highly sensitive NIE document has been through repeated drafts for more than a year, our sources say. Cheney ordered further study and rewrites, seeking more bellicose findings. Finally, Admiral McConnell’s analysts reportedly warned their White House contacts that if the NIE study was not promptly released, it would be leaked. This display of resolve compelled Cheney and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley to back down.

The White House wants to avoid a repeat in Iran of the 2003 debacle over Iraq’s non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction (WML). According to CNN that broke the story, the CIA has revealing videotapes showing the limitations of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and – a rarity – first-hand confirmation from credible “human intelligence” (HUMINT) including an Iranian general who recently defected.

Interestingly the estimated date for the halt to Iran’s nuclear program – Fall, 2003 -- coincides with the U.S.’s blitzkrieg takeover of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Iran reportedly sent out “feelers” for a secret deal to forestall an American invasion.

Was the halt to Iran’s nuclear activity part of an unpublicized deal with the U.S., suddenly fully credible as the quick conqueror of Iraq? Could Washington have made a comprehensive “peace” with Iran in 2003?

Bush at his news conference Tuesday appeared to be in total denial mode, misrepresenting the NIE’s findings as “a warning signal” that the U.S. should continue to mistrust Iran. We now know that the U.S. had no justification for a pr-emptive attack against Iran – yet Bush, whose credibility is in tatters, refuses to face reality and change his position.

Bush is an embarrassment to the presidency and a dead weight on the backs of his party in the 2008 presidential campaign.