Really Pissed Off!

President Bush’s enlightenment of the NIE Report is just another example of how inept this President and his Administration is regarding intelligence reports, especially if they do not support their agenda! It seems impossible that President Bush could not have known any of the contents of the NIE Report, when he gave his October 17, 2007 Press Conference in which he warns that “if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.” In case you want to hear that statement, here it is:

That was October 17th, and here is the President warning the nation that Iran’s nuclear capabilities may well threaten World Peace! On December 3, 2007, national Security Advisor Stephen Hadley held Press Conference in which he informs the world that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003 and that the President was briefed on this information on November 28, 2007 and the Vice President on November 26th or 27th. When pressed about the first time that the President was made aware that they had new information, Hadley replied “In my recollection, is in the last few months. Whether that is October- August, September, we’ll try to get you an answer to that.” I find it impossible to believe that the President didn’t have a clue about this important intelligence until the 28th of November, but here his is, replying to NBC’s David Gregory in December 4th. Press Conference.

The issue that the Media is spinning is whether or not Bush knew the contents of the NIE Report and whether he began to slightly temper and alter his language. Several bloggers have looked at the October 17th Press Conference and point out the Bush said that, in the above quote, using the tern “having the knowledge” gave the secret away. What matters more is why Bush continued the war mongering rhetoric, even though he knew that Iran was 10 to 15 years behind in producing a nuclear bomb, and in this case, had ceased their attempts in building one? If the Bush Administration wished to have the world see Iran as a victim of an aggressive unilateral policy by the United States,it has succeeded! President Ahmadinejad has claimed the NIE Report as ”great victory” for Iran and has left the United States with egg on its face! What the US does and says reverberates around the world and in this case presents more problems for Israel, ”leaving it high and dry against a regime committed to wipe the Jewish state off the map. This Administration has continued to use “sword rattling diplomacy” as its principle means of dealing with other nations, which it doesn’t like. Unfortunately, we’re no longer playing in a sandbox, when we were in kindergarten. We are creating the political environment that will not allow us any room to maneuver, even with a new Administration.

In the case of Iran, the United States must use diplomacy and not threats to find a solution in Iraq. We have made Iran the largest player in the Middle East by the overthrow of Saddam Hussein! Iran is that eight hundred pound gorilla in the room that no one is talking about. It would appear that the Bush Administration had never done its homework on the history of the Middle East. Not only have we made Iran the central player in the solution of Iraq, we contributed to the election of President Ahmadinejad, by our threats, which only made Iranians more fearful and decided to elect someone who would protect them. Sound familiar? You bet it does! It’s the same formula that the George W. Bush used in his re-election in 2004….and it worked! I call it “The Fear Factor.” Any nation’s first concern is safety, and Bush & Co. drove the Iranian electorate right into the hands of the “hardhead” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad! Without even discussing the Shah, all of the previous Administrations have failed in dealing with Iran, since the 1979 Revolution. To top it off, this Administration continues its threatening rhetoric towards Iran, when we should be talking to them as to how we are going to preserve the Middle East, in the wake of the Iraqi “Black Hole,” which we’ve created! That job will never be accomplished without the diplomatic engagement with Iran!