NYT: Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/washington/24intel.html?ei=5094&en=f985bca62045bd83&hp=&ex=1156392000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.

Some policy makers have accused intelligence agencies of playing down Iran’s role in Hezbollah’s recent attacks against Israel and overestimating the time it would take for Iran to build a nuclear weapon.

The complaints, expressed privately in recent weeks, surfaced in a Congressional report about Iran released Wednesday. They echo the tensions that divided the administration and the Central Intelligence Agency during the prelude to the war in Iraq.

The criticisms reflect the views of some officials inside the White House and the Pentagon who advocated going to war with Iraq and now are pressing for confronting Iran directly over its nuclear program and ties to terrorism, say officials with knowledge of the debate.

The dissonance is surfacing just as the intelligence agencies are overhauling their procedures to prevent a repeat of the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate — the faulty assessment that in part set the United States on the path to war with Iraq.

[babylonsister]

1. Bullshit; take names, ask why. Oh, wait!

THIS explains it! The warmongers are out in force!

The criticisms reflect the views of some officials inside the White House and the Pentagon who advocated going to war with Iraq and now are pressing for confronting Iran directly over its nuclear program and ties to terrorism, say officials with knowledge of the debate.

[bluerum]

2. The lawmakers know the lay of land better than intelligence

people on the ground in the ME?

Well what do we need intelligence people for. Fire them all and let the republican lawmakers make shit up.

[jaysunb]

3. " Some " say.....

Some who ??????

[praeclarus]

20. "some say" is a favorite device of Fox News

... this is a means of insinuating, or injecting
into the conversation, a point without having any
evidence.

When used by Fox, for example, it is safe to say
that "some" is equal to the Fox talking head who
just said it.

In this case, it's a nice way of getting this out
there without attributing to anybody in particular.

None them fellers are going to "own" this one but
there it is... out there in the world floating
around like a lingering fart.

[grytpype]

4. What a laugh!

"The criticisms reflect the views of some officials inside the White House and the Pentagon who advocated going to war with Iraq and now are pressing for confronting Iran directly over its nuclear program and ties to terrorism, say officials with knowledge of the debate."

I wonder what officials those are?

The same ones who got us into Iraq. Cheney and his little creatures of the night.

[liberalpragmatist]

5. Some in GOP Say Iran Threat is Played DOWN

Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down

By MARK MAZZETTI
Published: August 24, 2006

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 — Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.

Some policy makers have accused intelligence agencies of playing down Iran’s role in Hezbollah’s recent attacks against Israel and overestimating the time it would take for Iran to build a nuclear weapon.

The complaints, expressed privately in recent weeks, surfaced in a Congressional report about Iran released Wednesday. They echo the tensions that divided the administration and the Central Intelligence Agency during the prelude to the war in Iraq.

The criticisms reflect the views of some officials inside the White House and the Pentagon who advocated going to war with Iraq and now are pressing for confronting Iran directly over its nuclear program and ties to terrorism, say officials with knowledge of the debate.

(cont...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/washington/24intel.html?hp&ex=1156478400&en=430690629595a3e0&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[ShockediSay]

6. Powell Doctrine (as I recall) ... don't start a war unless

you have clear attainable objectives

overwhelming forces

a well defined exit strategy



...

too bad he didn't follow his own doctrine in Iraq

too bad for us and 22 Thousand killed and wounded US troops

too bad for innumerable Iraqis

too bad for our taxpayers

too bad for our prestige in the world

[rusty charly]

7. maybe colin could return to the UN:

[thecrow]

11. I wondered when Colin and his little coke bottle would show up...

don't you just love that picture?

[texpatriot2004]

8. MORE FEARMONGERING FROM THE GOP nm

[bklyncowgirl]

12. Let me get this straight.

The Bush administration cherry picked and distorted intelligence to scare the country into what has turned out to be a debacle in Iraq and now they and now Congressional Republicans are pissed because the CIA is unwilling to play their game any more with Iran.

In this crazy upside down world the people who were right are wrong. The people who were wrong are right and the Congressional Intelligence Committee gets to harangue the CIA for doing the job they should have done on Iraq.

What I want to know is why do these warmongering liars have any credibility whatsoever?

[praeclarus]

21. aye.

See 1984. Doublethink, newspeak.

Now in 2006 all wrapped up into doublespeak.

The thing that is perhaps frightening is that this
stuff works with a goodly proportion of the population
which has been tenderized by the tube and the general
dumbing down.

[BadGimp]

9. here we go again!

Iraq lies redux..

[teryang]

10. Can you imagine the huge profits for the Bush base?

Any sort of open conflict with Iran will result in enormous profits for those invested in defense and energy stocks.

[PCIntern]

13. We here at DU told everyone this would happen...

Iran was always the more threatening of the two countries by far ...now they can't sell it to the American people. THIS IS WHY YOU CAN'T LIE LIKE THIS! For years everyone who had a brain was watching Iran - that Iraq had been crushed and was a shell of its former self was a given.

To quote Ambassador Wilson: "These guys lie just to keep in shape"


Well, looks like a fine mess to me...
B-) O8) :evilfrown: :evilgrin: :hippie: :party: :toast: :bounce: :mad: :puke: :eyes: :smoke: :think: :think: :crazy: :silly: :wtf: :argh: :freak: :dunce: :hangover: :nopity: :hurts: :boring: :spank: :wow: :beer: :grr: :nuke: :scared: :scared: :thumbsdown: :thumbsup: :hi: :dem: :kick: :shrug: :puffpiece: :loveya: :donut: :tinfoilhat: :hug: :grouphug: :cry: :pals: :headbang: :yourock: :banghead: :dilemma: :blush: :rant: :sarcasm: :woohoo: :applause: :hide: :popcorn: :rofl: :spray: :patriot: :yoiks:

[mallard]

17. Re: "We here at DU..."

A lot of the fear mongering coming from the Rebulkingcons is the result of active Israeli-interest lobbying. The entire US Iraq program has no ohter visible political beneficiary to date thatn the Israelis who Saddam once threatened.

Now what's his name is talking it up, but Israel iand its lackeys here aregoing the next step and winding up sure plans fdor mass terror and mayhem. Is that what you think will work out for .... anyone?

Not everyone believes the official 9/11 story or that the real primary threat in this unstable world comes from basically peaceful countries like Iran who're more traditionally getting scammed out of their own sovereignty by international players who turn out not to be the friends they presented themselves as to get a foot in the door (Eg: BP and the mid-50's assassination of Iran's leader).

The idea is countries Israel doesn't like should just be bombed to shit until ... there's enough suffering to make everyone FEAR the enemy land of the Jews.

Some people are even able to name the actual most belligersent miscreant in the whole mid-east struggle stew as being the state of Israel - and WE don't necessarily see the Iranians as the ones who do most of the threatening and killing of late.

But that doesn't seem to rate by you, compared with your bold push for a Liebermanesque "bye" for more war, and abusing the notions of shared perspective amongst DU members who I assume 80% of ainly do not see Iran as some sort of primary threat - that it's a kind of ego trip for Zionist to get their bombing runs whenever they get an itch in their shorts. please have more respect for OTHER life.

There wouldn't be any of this ugly mess of expanding regional war if not for dedicated supporters of Israel in it arrogant bellegerent rejection of reasonable terms for settlement - opting decade after decade to leave the millions of non-Jews as stateless enemies rather than compensating them fairly.

Making enemies is not the only choice!

(duh)

[mallard]

18. Re: Thankyou for editing out of your post...

... the part about how we should listen to these warhawks and proceed with the standing plans to go ahead and bomb the living shit out of yet another fundamentally peaceful part of Israel's neighborhood.

But you really should have marked it as edited - so as to be forthright about your own (actual) war policy position.

[Demeter]

14. You And What Army, Cheney?

This is unbelievable. With the army prostrate in two foreign lands, the governors of all 50 states and Puerto Rico in rebellion against Bush appropriating their National Guardsmen, the Treasury printing fiat money at a rate soon to exceed any inflation ever seen in this country since the last Civil War....

Some bunch of damn fools wants to start another war?


Fine--round up the neo-cons, offer them a choice between life in prison on treason charges or fighting one of their misbegotten, godawful, pointless and unwinnable wars. Then be prepared to build more prisons to handle the demand.

[atommom]

15. So once again, the same chickenhawks want us to take their word

over the word of the true experts. How long before they evoke the "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud" tactic?

[HuffleClaw]

16. bwhhahhahahhahhaaa

what a joke, they whine because CIA isn't echoing their own chicken little proclamations?

[Rex]

19. Some senior shit eaters like to tell some fudge makers how to make fudge.

Complaints, expressed in stinky filth crested the surface of Congressional cesspools. The criticisms reflect off the rim as lazy bastards failed time and again to lift the toilet seat. Millions are trampled by tremendous butt mashings, everywhere. Sources say the dump was massive.