Email Friend | Print Article | | Share Share  December 9, 2007
What Caused the NIE Reversal on Iran's Nuclear Program?  By Ed
Lasky The recently-released National intelligence Estimate
(NIE) has come in for a round of criticism for its finding that
Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. This
criticism spans the political spectrum. The political left and
"doves" have found fault with it, as have Republican senators,
who have urged a Congressional Panel be created to review the
findings of the NIE. Former Ambassador to the United Nations
John Bolton outlined a case "against" the NIE, as has Alan
Dershowitz.  Our European allies expressed dismay at the
findings and even the Iran-friendly International Atomic Energy
Agency expressed discomfort with the tone of the NIE. "To be
frank, we are more skeptical," a senior official close to the
agency told the New York Times this week. "We don't buy the
American analysis 100 percent. We are not that generous with
Iran." When all these parties can agree on