[National Post-Canada] David Frum - Some have questioned the value of America's new intelligence estimate on Iran. Intelligence agencies often have institutional biases, and the CIA in particular has been waging a long-term insurgency against the Bush administration through damaging leaks. But this particular NIE seems to owe a great deal to information provided by Ali Reza Asghari, the Iranian deputy minister of defense who defected to the U.S. in February 2007, and it would be irresponsible to mark it down as the work of disgruntled internal political opponents. The NIE is a foundational political fact that will make it politically impossible for the Bush administration to launch a strike at Iran's nuclear facilities. In one sense, this changes nothing. Hype aside, the Bush administration has never had any real intention of striking the Iranian nuclear facilities. But with force off the table, suddenly the world is noticing that nothing much else is on the table.
2007-12-13 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive