What Do You Make of This...???

From today's NYT:

American intelligence analysts continue to believe that there is no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb.

(*SHRUG*)

Recent assessments by American spy agencies are broadly consistent with a 2007 intelligence finding that concluded that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program years earlier, according to current and former American officials.

(*SHRUG*)

The officials said that assessment was largely reaffirmed in a 2010 National Intelligence Estimate, and that it remains the consensus view of America’s 16 intelligence agencies.

(*SHRUG*)

There is no dispute among American, Israeli and European intelligence officials that Iran has been enriching nuclear fuel and developing some necessary infrastructure to become a nuclear power. But the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies believe that Iran has yet to decide whether to resume a parallel program to design a nuclear warhead - a program they believe was essentially halted in 2003 and which would be necessary for Iran to build a nuclear bomb.

(*SHRUG*)

Iranian officials maintain that their nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

(*SHRUG*)

In Senate testimony on Jan. 31, James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, stated explicitly that American officials believe that Iran is preserving its options for a nuclear weapon, but said there was no evidence that it had made a decision on making a concerted push to build a weapon.

David H. Petraeus, the C.I.A. director, concurred with that view at the same hearing.

Other senior United States officials, including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have made similar statements in recent television appearances.

(*SIGH*)

Folks... let me ask you... is this info in line with the "tone" of general news reporting, analysis, and the partisan rhetoric of leaders of both parties that's been coming across to you?

Folks... one of the reasons we're presently paying almost $4/gal. for gas is because apparently expectations are that we'll soon see a new war in the Middle East to "stop Iran from getting The Bomb."

(*PURSED LIPS*)

I don't know, folks... all this talk of coming war... all this sword rattling...

Here's a Drudge headline from this morning, folks: "Iran Ready To Wipe Israel Off The Map"

Well... not quite.

True, Drudge was simply using the same headline as Ynetnews (Israeli News) did, but, as you'll see in a second, the headline is misleading at best, a baldfaced lie at worse. From the subheader:

"Tehran's deputy defense minister warns Jerusalem against strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, says 'any action by Zionist regime will bring about its destruction.'"

Oops!

So in actuality... the Iranians are simply saying that if Israel launches a military attack upon Iran... Iran will massively retaliate.

(Hmm... where have we heard this before... this theory of "Mutually Assured Destruction"?)

(*SMIRK*)

All I'm saying here, folks, is that you need to be aware that there are forces out there pushing for a military attack against Iran.

Perhaps such an attack is warranted... but perhaps it's not.

Perhaps Iran is working feverishly to build actual nuclear warheads and place them on missiles with the end-game being the destruction of Israel and perhaps attacks on other U.S. allies and indeed perhaps upon U.S. forces - or even U.S. civilian targets.

But on the other hand...

(*SHRUG*)

We got fooled by Saddam Hussein.

(How'd that work out for us?!)

Let's not allow ourselves to simply be led around by the nose again.

That's all I'm sayin'...