|
|
 |
American Intelligence Knows Nothing about Iran
// The battle for power
The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee report presented yesterday was a real revelation. The document harshly criticized the American intelligence community for being unable to provide the necessary information on Iran. Without data, it will be extremely difficult for Washington to make a sound decision on the Iranian nuclear problem. In 2003, inaccurate U.S. intelligence information that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction was the justification for the invasion of Iraq. When it became clear that there were no such weapons in Iraq, it was a powerful blow the United States' image.
“American intelligence departments know much less about the Iranian nuclear program than is needed by politicians at this critical moment,” the report reads. Information on potential Iranian chemical and biological weapons programs is called “neither extensive nor convincing.” In addition, little information has been gathered about Al-Qaeda or the recent military actions between Israel and the radical group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Intelligence head John Negroponte is the object of especially pointed criticism. The senators say that Negroponte should “clearly set goals of improving the gathering and analysis on Iran so that members of society know what the Islamic Republic wants to achieve.”
In spite of the lack of reliable intelligence, the authors of the 29-page report express their certainty of the criminal intent of the Iranian regime's nuclear program on every page. Thus, the authors fully agree with the position of the White House. According to The Washington Post, which published the document, three members of the Intelligence Committee are responsible for the document, but committee spokesman Jamal Ware stated that the main author of the report was former CIA officer Frederick Fleitz, who was special assistant to John Bolton (now U.S. ambassador to the United Nations) when Bolton was in charge of the State Department's Iran department and insisted on a hardline approach to the country with no negotiating.
“We want to avoid a repeat of the Iraq scenario,” Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) explained about the publication of the report. “It is important for the American people to understand the pressure we are under.” In 2003, CIA accounts seemed to prove that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, which became one of the U.S.'s justifications for its invasion of Iraq. When no forbidden weapons were found in Iraq, the U.S. came under the fire of international criticism and, more importantly, felt the displeasure of the American voters who felt that they had been deceived. The White House is trying to avoid similar mistakes this time.
Negroponte's press secretary John Callahan stated that “steps are already being taken” on the committee's recommendations and he expressed readiness to work with the members of the committee to make progress toward the solution of the Iran problem. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has yet to make reference to any proof in its possession of Iran's criminal intentions while demanding that Iran stop its nuclear research under threat of sanctions. Instead, Washington refers to Iran's long-time secret research and asks why a country with that quantity of oil needs a large-scale nuclear program.
The American military is not as sensitive about the question. Yesterday, deputy director for regional operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces Michael Barbero unambiguously accused Tehran of destabilizing neighboring Iraq. “There can be no doubt that Iran is responsible for training, financing and equipping several groups of extremists,” he said at the Pentagon yesterday, adding that the evidence of it is clear. According to hi, the Iranians are providing militants in Iraq with everything necessary to make the explosives that are in use there. “Iran is undoubtedly one of the destabilizing factors in Iraq,” Gen. Barbero said. He declined to give any more details.
Alexander Reutov
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 25, 2006
|
|
|
