Nuclear allegations on Iran unverified (Info from a Walk-In)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6525369/

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell shared information with reporters Wednesday about Iran's nuclear program that was classified and based on an unvetted, single source who provided information that two U.S. officials said yesterday was highly significant if true but has not yet been verified.

Powell and other senior Cabinet members were briefed last week on the sensitive intelligence. The material was stamped "No Foreign," meaning it was not to be shared with allies, although President Bush decided that portions could be shared last week with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, officials said.

According to one official with access to the material, a "walk-in" source approached U.S intelligence earlier this month with more than 1,000 pages purported to be Iranian drawings and technical documents, including a nuclear warhead design and modifications enabling Iranian ballistic missiles to deliver an atomic strike. The official agreed to discuss the information on the condition of anonymity and only because Powell had alluded to it publicly.

But U.S. intelligence officials have been combing the information carefully and with a wary eye, mindful of the mistakes made in trusting intelligence information alleging that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Powell, who announced earlier this week that he would not stay on for a second term, presented that intelligence in a February 2003 speech to the U.N. Security Council that was meant to convince the world that Saddam Hussein needed to be forcefully removed from power. Much of his presentation turned out to be based on information provided by unreliable sources.

[tk2kewl]

1. you mean powell's talking outta his ass again?

nah.

:eyes:

[ogradda]

2. big whoop de shit

like this administration gives a ducks crap for "proof":eyes:

[billyoc]

3. Curveball 2

The Persian Boogaloo. :eyes:

[AndyTiedye]

4. 4 More Wars?

[leftchick]

5. lying while he is walking out the door....

it is amazing how ameriKans still fall for all of the lies even with our soldiers dying in multiples daily because of them.

[UpInArms]

6. related article: Powell's information on Iranian missiles based on single

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/117968/1/.html

WASHINGTON : Outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell's announcement earlier this week that Iran could be developing nuclear-capable missiles was based on an "unvetted, single source," The Washington Post said.

The intelligence, which two US officials said had not been verified, could be significant if true but an embarrassment if not, reminiscent of Powell's February 2003 UN speech about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, which was based on dubious intelligence and which so far has proved untrue.

The officials told the daily the intelligence was stamped "No Foreign," meaning it was not to be shared even with US allies, although they said US President George W. Bush shared portions of it with British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, last week.

Powell, in Santiago for an APEC summit this weekend, said Wednesday that he had "seen some information that would suggest" that Iran was seeking to adapt its missiles to carry nuclear warheads -- they have "been actively working on delivery systems," he said.

<snip>

They {the CIA} said the lack of certainty about the source had kept them from talking publicly about the information and that Powell's comments had caught them by surprise and even angered some of them.

...more...

I doubt that the rest of the world is going to allow this mal-administration to get away with lying its way into another illegal invasion.

[UpInArms]

7. kick

:kick:

[hippywife]

8. Iran is going to be a harder case to make

not only are they suffering from the boy who cried wolf syndrome but China is now in play. It has long been my contention that China's 35% increase in oil consumption last year was one of the reasons for invading Iraq and securing those oil fields.

Now, instead of dealing with the US to rebuild Iraq in exchange for much needed oil imports, they have signed a deal with Iran, among other smaller oil exporting countries. The Bush administration has to see China as a major and growing competitor for these resources.

I also believe that China's increased usage of oil must be linked to the increased trade with the US that was ushered in during the Clinton administration which is costing American jobs and building an astonishing ever-mounting trade deficit.

Since 2003, China has become the second largest oil import and consumption country, only next to the United States. In that year, China's oil consumption reached 250 million tons, with 91.12 million tons imported; and China's dependence on oil import has amounted to 35 percent. What's more, the number of days of comprehensive store for crude oil reserved for internal usage of China's oil system is only 21.6 as China does not have strategic reserve storage up to now.

Under pressures from the oil situation, the Chinese government is vigorously launching its energy diplomacy. Among 14 countries that President Hu Jintao has visited in his 4 times overseas visits since his accession, six, i.e. Russia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Gabon, Algeria, and Uzbekistan, have oil cooperation with China. And China has signed oil supply-demand agreements with all these oil-producing countries.

snip...

China Economic Net:
http://en-1.ce.cn/main/Insight/200411/15/t20041115_2295397.shtml


Instead of producing new sources of renewable energy, and creating new high-tech jobs in the process, they would rather spill blood for oil. And China isn't going to be a rollover in this game.

[Rose Siding]

9. LAT: "Powell's Talk of Arms Has Fallout" -w/good dem quote

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's statement that Iran is actively studying how to outfit a missile with a nuclear bomb caused surprise and confusion in Washington on Thursday, and members of Congress demanded that he provide more details.

Powell's remarks Wednesday — apparently unscripted and based on classified information — appeared to catch the Bush administration and its European allies off-guard. The CIA refused to comment, and the White House and State Department declined to offer details. Some sources raised questions about the credibility of the intelligence.
..........
"After crying wolf for so long about Iraq, how are we going to have any credibility on this?" said Rep. Gary L. Ackerman of New York, who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East. "People in the Arab world won't believe it and say we have a bad track record and just want to invade another country in the Middle East."

Ackerman added: "How do we expect anybody to believe us, even if we know it's true? This is the disaster we created for ourselves in lying about Iraq."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-irannuke19nov19,0,2210169.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Tyrone Slothrop]

10. Paging Mr. Chalabi

A single "walk-in" source with Iranian connections?

Hmmmm... This seems familiar...

Mr. Chalabi must be gunning for a new H2.

[htuttle]

11. It's his cousin

Sam Chalabi.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi Tyrone Slothrop!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[nickinSTL]

12. from CBS:

Powell's Iran Nuke Info Questioned

(CBS/AP) Secretary of State Colin Powell's assertion that Iran was trying to fit missiles to carry nuclear weapons was based on the unverified claims of a single source, the Washington Post reported Friday.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/29/world/main646227.shtml

Did they learn nothing? Don't answer that...

[DownNotOut]

13. I doubt Mrs. Butterworth /sarcasm/

will have any different perspective on Iran. Just another illegal occupation ready to happen.

What is the penalty for failing the world test....? A slap on the hand with a ruler....?

D.N.O

[daleo]

14. Will Rice bother lying to the U.N. the way Powell did?

They probably won't even bother this time. Since they represent "values" voters, they can invade anyone they like. I imagine some countries are slipping Iran some interesting weapons systems (non-nuclear, but powerful like the sunburn) right now. This one won't be easy.