re: #126 mj

There’s a continual war between the CIA and any Administration - particularly when that Administration changes priorities, targets, or direction. We’re seeing some of that with the Obama Administration too - since their recent intel on Iran directly contradicts the 2007 NIE, which they helped put together to quash any action on Iran during the Bush Administration, but which is pushing Obama to have to take a harder line than Obama may otherwise want.

The CIA had intel showing that Iran had multiple nuclear sites - heck, Global Security, FAS, and several other sites already had the lo-down on the Iranian nuke sites, including the one outside Qom. They just downplayed its role/existence for the NIE. Now that Iran admitted to its existence, it bolsters the fact that Iran has a far larger and more active nuclear program than the NIE previously suggested. By being far too cautious, the NIE led to inaction and underplaying a grave and gathering threat.

As cagey as Saddam was with his WMD programs, the Iranians have learned all the lessons and have exploited the situation to their advantage. They’re pressing it to their maximum advantage. The revelation of the Qom facilities gets everyone focused on that, all while Iran’s other centrifuges continue spinning furiously. It means Iran continues doing what it has been doing.