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Your Representatives
Speak out: Peace Action called for an NIE on Iran last Feburary...the results are a hard lesson for the Bush administration on manipulating the American public & refusing to engage Iran in Diplomatic talks. Compiled by: Carah Ong "In October, President Bush raised the specter of World War III with Iran because of its pursuit of a nuclear weapon months after he had been told by our own intelligence community it was likely Iran had halted its weapons program in 2003. “After all that Americans have been
through, for this President to knowingly disregard or misrepresent
intelligence about an issue of war and peace, is outrageous. It’s
exactly what he did in the run up to the war in Iraq in consistently
exaggerating intelligence suggesting that Iraq had WMD, while failing
to tell the American people about intelligence concluding that it
did not. It further undermines America’s credibility around
the world – and the government’s credibility here at
home – at a time when that credibility is at an all-time low.
And it injects more tension and instability into the Middle East
at a time when we should be doing everything in our power to prevent
that region from spiraling out of control.” “At first blush, this looks like a
good news story. Good because the intelligence community was willing
to reconsider an important intelligence judgment. More importantly,
it's good news that Iran doesn't appear to be currently working
on a bomb.” "I vehemently disagree with the president
that nothing has changed and therefore nothing in American policy
has to change. He should seize this opportunity and engage in serious
diplomacy using both carrots and sticks.” “On Iran and the NIE report, I think
we've got a couple of things that I think are very important and
worth noting. One, is we no longer have to have a policy that's
either based by hype and fear, but can now be clear-eyed and hardheaded
as it approaches the Iranians. We do not have to operate from fear
or weakness. We have strength here. And I think the NIE report shows
that.” "Iran's nuclear program remains a serious
concern but it is clear from the [intelligence estimate] that vigorous
and coordinated diplomacy is the right way to approach it.” “The United States must employ a comprehensive
strategy that uses all elements of its foreign policy arsenal, in
particular offering ‘direct, unconditional and comprehensive
talks’ with Iran – where all issues, ours and Iran’s,
are on the table, including offering Iran a credible way back from
the fringes of the international community, security guarantees,
and other incentives. Our strategy must be one focused on direct
and comprehensive engagement and diplomacy…backed by the leverage
of international pressure, military options, isolation and containment.
Now is the time for America to act in light of the NIE report and
the momentum generated by the Annapolis Middle East meeting last
week.” “This newest information supports what I have said all along: We need to give diplomacy with Iran more of a chance. I continue to favor dialogue between our two countries, in contrast to the Administration’s belligerent and stiff-necked refusal to talk with Tehran. And I believe we need to use every means at our disposal – economic, political and diplomatic – to persuade Iranians that peaceful development of energy options, free of any hint of military use, is well within reach. “In its unclassified report, the intelligence
community has judged that Iran makes its decisions about a nuclear
weapons program based on a cost-benefit analysis. This suggests
that Tehran may be open to a combination of pressure and incentives
to keep it from returning to developing a nuclear arsenal. And the
latest publicly-available intelligence indicates that it will take
longer for Iran to produce sufficient materials for a nuclear weapon
than previously thought. So we have more time – beyond the
end of the current Administration – to continue to push for
this mixture of pressure and incentives." "It is absolutely clear that this administration
and President Bush continues to not let facts get in the way of
his ideology. They need, now, to aggressively move on the diplomatic
front. They should have stopped the rattling -- should never have
started it.” "While we should harbor no illusions
about the intentions of some Iranian leaders, the new Iran NIE suggests
there is time for a new policy toward Iran that deters it from restarting
its nuclear program while also improving relations overall." “President Bush’s heated rhetoric
on Iran – including comments about a potential World War III
– is even more outrageous now that we know the intelligence
community had informed him that it believes Iran had stopped its
nuclear weapons program four years ago. This is the latest in a
long line of inaccurate and misleading comments that got us into
the Iraq war to begin with. They further diminish the credibility
of a President with a dangerous record of overstating threats.“In
light of yesterday’s remarkable new National Intelligence
Estimate on Iran, I urge the President at his press conference today
to announce a top-to-bottom review of his Iran policy and a diplomatic
surge to advance U.S. interests with regard to Iran. He should announce
that his Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense are prepared
to meet anytime, anywhere with their Iranian counterparts to conduct
vigorous diplomacy to advance U.S. interests and address the challenges
of Iran.” “The key judgments show that the intelligence
community has learned its lessons from the Iraq debacle. It has
issued judgments that break sharply with its own previous assessments,
and they reflect a real difference from the views espoused by top
administration officials.” |
