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| − | Well, in terms of articles, you guys are getting slightly better. That thing about algae is interesting. But all of those articles on how Wikipedia, which is more successful and accurate than you, sucks, aren’t nearly as important as the one that proves the democrats right (HA! No pointless war for the republicans). Oh, did you hear about how Mike Huckabee paroled a rapist that assaulted and killed one of Clinton’s relatives? He killed and raped 2-3 more people. Smart. Anyhoo,
| + | '''Television''' is a medium characterized by the simultaneous dissemination and reproduction (often thousands of miles away) of either a scene captured and shown while it is taking place, or the recording of such a scene or scenes that took place earlier. |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| | | | |
| | + | == History of Television as a Medium == |
| | + | [[Image:OTVbelweder-front.jpg|200px|thumb|right|OT-1471 Belweder, Poland, 1957<small><br> |
| | + | 1. power switch / volume<br> |
| | + | 2. brightness<br> |
| | + | 3. pitch<br> |
| | + | 4. vertical synchro<br> |
| | + | 5. horizontal synchro<br> |
| | + | 6. contrast<br> |
| | + | 7. channel tuning<br> |
| | + | 8. channel switch</small>]] |
| | + | As with most inventions, there is controversy as to who deserves to be considered "the" inventor. |
| | | | |
| | + | Early experiments in electromechanical television were conducted by [[Charles Francis Jenkins]] in the late 1920s in the United States, building on the work of British inventor [[John Logie Baird]]. Jenkins patented the first practical television set <ref>US Patent No.1,544,156 </ref> and operated the first television broadcasting station in the US, W3XK, in 1928. |
| | | | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | Jenkins' system was not commercially successful and was abandoned. This probably occurred because the [[Great Depression]] intervened and made the medium a prohibitively expensive extravagance. |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| | | | |
| | + | Other pioneers in the development of television include Philo Farnsworth and Vladimyr Zworykin. Zworkyin developed a series of electronic television camera tubes, all referred to as "iconoscopes." He worked for and was heavily backed by David Sarnoff and the Radio Corporation of America, and his devices are thus in the direct ancestry of commercial television as we know it today. |
| | | | |
| | + | Following the end of [[World War II]] and the tremendous prosperity that followed, television captured the interest of the public, especially in the [[United States]]. |
| | | | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | Television is both a dissemination medium and a means of recording motion pictures for later review, transmittal and exhibition. |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| | | | |
| | + | == Uses of Television == |
| | + | Television has a very wide variety of uses and seems destined not to become obsolete unless and until human civilization becomes obsolete. Its many uses include without limitation: |
| | + | [[Image:A180-AT3720A CA.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A modern flat panel high definition 37" Television from ''Acer inc.'']] |
| | + | # As an aid to education, both by recording lectures, demonstrations, or field trips, and by repeating the voice and image of a lecturer to multiple locations in a large room, or even multiple rooms, to ensure that every attendee of a lecture is able to see and hear the speaker(s). |
| | + | # As a means of disseminating current events. |
| | + | # As a means of recording any action or actions that might become the subject of a legal contest. This is especially true today of [[police]] officers who might stand accused of the use of excessive force in the performance of duty, or otherwise improper performance of duty. |
| | + | # As a means of setting a watch on any gate, room, or other venue that might become the scene of a crime or come under external attack. |
| | + | # As a means of improved communication. |
| | + | # As a safe way of "seeing" the scene of an industrial or other process--or accident--that would create danger to any person close enough to see it with his own eyes. |
| | + | # As a tool of [[propaganda]]. |
| | + | # As a form of [[theater]]. |
| | | | |
| | + | The last use is definitely the most popular use of television today. Television as theater usually refers to the transmission of dramatic presentations either made especially for the medium or originally made to be exhibited in [[motion picture]] exhibition halls ("movie theaters") but now offered for instantaneous mass transmission. Television ''also'' is the modern means of allowing millions of people to view public games. Though the original public games of, say, the [[Rome|Roman Empire]] are no longer being staged, their spiritual descendants continue as, for example, [[automobile]] racing and various contact and non-contact [[sport]]s. Virtually any spectacle that in earlier centuries would draw large numbers of attendees is a candidate for transmission on television. This especially includes the installation of a new head-of-state. |
| | | | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | For further discussions of television as theater (and its use and mis-use), see [[Theater]]. |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| | | | |
| | + | == References == |
| | | | |
| | + | <references/> |
| | | | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | [[Category:Broadcasting]] |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | [[Category:Technology]] |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
| − | WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.
| + | |
| − | ADVERTISEMENT
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday.
| + | |
| − | Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."
| + | |
| − | Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace."
| + | |
| − | More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
| + | |
| − | Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."
| + | |
| − | Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings.
| + | |
| − | The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
| + | |
| − | Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison.
| + | |
| − | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence."
| + | |
| − | "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran."
| + | |
| − | In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb.
| + | |
| − | Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said.
| + | |
| − | In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program.
| + | |
| − | "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said.
| + | |
| − | While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not.
| + | |
| − | The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs.
| + | |
| − | "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution."
| + | |
| − | Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran.
| + | |
| − | "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years."
| + | |
| − | Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer."
| + | |
| − | ___
| + | |
| − | EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.
| + | |
As with most inventions, there is controversy as to who deserves to be considered "the" inventor.
Jenkins' system was not commercially successful and was abandoned. This probably occurred because the Great Depression intervened and made the medium a prohibitively expensive extravagance.
Other pioneers in the development of television include Philo Farnsworth and Vladimyr Zworykin. Zworkyin developed a series of electronic television camera tubes, all referred to as "iconoscopes." He worked for and was heavily backed by David Sarnoff and the Radio Corporation of America, and his devices are thus in the direct ancestry of commercial television as we know it today.
Television is both a dissemination medium and a means of recording motion pictures for later review, transmittal and exhibition.
Television has a very wide variety of uses and seems destined not to become obsolete unless and until human civilization becomes obsolete. Its many uses include without limitation:
The last use is definitely the most popular use of television today. Television as theater usually refers to the transmission of dramatic presentations either made especially for the medium or originally made to be exhibited in motion picture exhibition halls ("movie theaters") but now offered for instantaneous mass transmission. Television also is the modern means of allowing millions of people to view public games. Though the original public games of, say, the Roman Empire are no longer being staged, their spiritual descendants continue as, for example, automobile racing and various contact and non-contact sports. Virtually any spectacle that in earlier centuries would draw large numbers of attendees is a candidate for transmission on television. This especially includes the installation of a new head-of-state.
