[NYTr] Bush says Iran a 'danger' despite intelligence report to the contrary

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AFP - Dec 5, 2007
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/071205042248.zjreickm.html

Bush says Iran a 'danger' despite intelligence report

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush said Tuesday that Iran
remains a danger and refused to rule out a military attack, despite a
US intelligence report saying Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program
in 2003.

"The best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one in which all options
are on the table," Bush said a day after the new intelligence
assessment stoked the controversy over Iran's disputed program.

Iran said the US report had vindicated its stance, while UN atomic
watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said the document could help defuse
tensions though he added Iran must step up cooperation with his agency,
the IAEA.

Bush was adamant. "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will
be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear
weapon," he told a White House press conference.

The president called on US allies to step up pressure on Iran. "The
best way to ensure that the world is peaceful in the future is for the
international community to continue to work together to say to the
Iranians we are going to isolate you."

The National Intelligence Estimate said US allegations about Iran's
atomic goals had been exaggerated for at least two years, although it
could have the capability to make a nuclear weapon by 2015.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, quoted by state IRNA news
agency, said: "Looks like there are wise people in the United States
who seek to find a way out of the predicament which US leaders have
created, and this report might help that.

"If America corrects its past approach we welcome that."

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head ElBaradei, whose
inspectors have been investigating Iran's nuclear drive for four years,
called for immediate negotiations between Iran and its western critics.

"This new assessment by the US should help to defuse the current
crisis," he said in a statement. "At the same time, it should prompt
Iran to work actively with the IAEA."

But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice vowed to press ahead with
tougher UN sanctions against Iran, saying the United States and the
five other powers dealing with Iran must maintain their diplomatic
pressure.

"There is time for diplomacy to work, but there isn't time to stop and
say 'we don't need the diplomacy,'" Rice said.
A UN diplomat confirmed the six powers were expecting to soon begin
work on drafting a resolution for new sanctions against Tehran to go
before the UN Security Council.

"The political directors are still working on it," said one of the
diplomats to the UN Security Council, asking to remain anonymous.

Germany and Britain both said the report had vindicated Europe's
approach of embarking on negotiations offering carrot and stick
incentives to Iran.

"The report confirms we were right to be worried about Iran seeking to
develop nuclear weapons," said the spokesman of British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown.

"It also shows the intent is there and the risk of Iran acquiring a
nuclear weapon remains a very serious issue."

In October, Bush had sounded the alarm over Iran's nuclear drive,
raising the specter of "World War III" or a "nuclear holocaust" if it
obtained an atomic arsenal.

The US report, a consensus view of all 16 US spy agencies, said Iran
appeared "less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been
judging since 2005."

t concluded that "the program probably was halted primarily in response
to international pressure (which) suggests that Iran may be more
vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged previously.

"But we do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear
weapons," cautioned declassified findings of the estimate, which
starkly contradicted the US spy agencies' 2005 conclusions.

The assessment said US agencies had "moderate confidence" that Iran
would be able to produce enough enriched uranium for a weapon sometime
between 2010 and 2015.

In a swift reaction to his Tuesday speech, Democratic White House
hopefuls accused Bush of "saber-rattling" and argued the new report
rendered his hawkish policy obselete.

"He should seize this opportunity and engage in serious diplomacy using
both carrots and sticks," frontrunner Hillary Clinton said.

Clinton's top rival Senator Barack Obama warned that despite the
National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran released Monday, the Bush
administration would not modify its tough line on Iran.

"It is absolutely clear that this administration and President Bush
continues to not let facts get in the way of his ideology."

"Let's get this straight, in 2003 (Iran) stopped their program, you
cannot trust this president, he is not trustworthy," said Senator
Joseph Biden.

"It is outrageous, intolerable and it must stop ... the president of
the United States -- it's like watching a rerun of his statements on
Iraq five years earlier."

                            ***

AP - Dec 5, 2007
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=ORAST&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Bush: Iran still a danger despite report

By TERENCE HUNT
AP White House Correspondent

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defending his credibility, President Bush said
Tuesday that Iran is dangerous and must be squeezed by international
pressure despite a blockbuster intelligence finding that Tehran halted
its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

Bush said the new conclusion - contradicting earlier U.S. assessments -
would not prompt him to take off the table the possibility of
pre-emptive military action against Iran. Nor will the United States
change its policy of trying to isolate Iran diplomatically and punish
it with sanctions, he said.

"Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous
if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," the
president told a White House news conference a day after the release of
a new national intelligence estimate representing the consensus of all
U.S. spy agencies.

On Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats said they hoped the report
would have a cooling effect on the administration's rhetoric, which
they said was hyped and counterproductive. At a campaign debate in
Iowa, seven Democratic presidential candidates stood in agreement that
the United States should shift its focus with Iran to diplomatic
engagement.

"They should have stopped the saber rattling, should never have started
it," said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton said Bush "should seize this opportunity." But she also said it
was clear that pressure on Iran has had an effect - a point disputed by
rival Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

While U.S. intelligence about Iran has changed, Bush showed no
inclination to alter course. Iran continues to produce enriched uranium
that could be transferred to a secret weapons program, he said.

"So, I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program,
they halted the program. And the reason why it's a warning signal is
that they could restart it," the president said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, en route to Ethiopia for talks
with African leaders, said it would be a "big mistake" to ease
diplomatic pressure on Tehran.

"I continue to see Iran as a dangerous power in international
politics," Rice said. "At this moment, it doesn't appear to have an
active weaponization program. That frankly is good news. But if it
causes people to say, 'Oh well then we don't need to worry about what
the Iranians are doing,' I think we will have made a big mistake."

Rice worked the phones to explain the new assessment, reaching out to
the foreign ministers of Germany, Britain and France, as well as China
and Russia, according to U.S. officials. She spoke to Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov, whom she expects to see later this week at a
NATO meeting in Brussels.

"What I am going to say to my colleagues is, 'Look, we have got the
right strategy," Rice told reporters.

Rice urged nations such as China and Russia not to harden their stance
against a new round of sanctions against Iran, saying the fact that
Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 because of
international pressure shows that diplomacy works.

Bush rattled some allies by warning recently that a nuclear-armed Iran
could lead to World War III. Until Monday's report, the administration
was unwavering in its conviction that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons.
Bush said he did not know about the new findings until he was briefed
last week - a point challenged by some.

"The president knew, even as he was saying 'World War III' and all that
kind of stuff," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the
Senate Intelligence Committee. "He knew. He knew, he had been briefed."

Bush drew support from European allies who said the international
community should not walk away from years of talks with an often
defiant Tehran that is openly enriching uranium for uncertain ends. The
report said Iran could still build a nuclear bomb by 2010-15.

"We must maintain pressure on Iran," said French Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Pascale Andreani.

The U.S. acknowledgment about faulty intelligence about Iran recalled
the erroneous U.S. conclusion that Iraq possessed weapons of mass
destruction, a belief that was a factor in Bush's decision to invade
Iraq.

"President Bush has lost all credibility with the American people,"
said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "We were
misled on Iraq, now it's Iran. We need to get to the truth so our
foreign policy is not only tough but smart."

But Bush told the news conference he was not troubled about his
standing, about perhaps facing a credibility gap with the American
people. "No, I'm feeling pretty spirited - pretty good about life,"
Bush said.

"Nothing has changed in this NIE that says, `OK, why don't we just stop
worrying about it?' Quite the contrary. I think the NIE makes it clear
that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace," Bush said.
"My opinion hasn't changed."

The president opened the session by challenging Congress, in the three
weeks before Christmas, to approve money without conditions for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, extend the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act, pass overdue spending bills and pass a temporary fix
to the alternative minimum tax so millions of taxpayers don't get hit
with tax increases.

"Based on the record so far," he said, "Americans could be forgiven for
thinking that Santa will have slipped down their chimney on Christmas
Eve before Congress finishes its work."

On other issues, Bush:

-Expressed anger about a rape victim in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced
to prison and 200 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her
- a violation of the kingdom's strict segregation of the sexes. "My
first thoughts were these: What happens if this happens to my daughter?
How would I react? And I would have been - I'd of been very emotional,
of course. I'd have been angry at those who committed the crime. And
I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim."

-Said that "the Venezuelan people rejected one-man rule" when they
rejected a constitutional provision that would have enabled Hugo Chavez
to remain in power for life and drive changes throughout Venezuelan
society. "They voted for democracy."

-Said he talked by telephone Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir
Putin and briefed him on the new Iran intelligence estimate. Bush also
said he told Putin that "we were sincere in our expressions of concern"
about irregularities in the voting that produced a sweeping
parliamentary victory for Putin's party.

-Said he has "cordial relations" with Democratic leaders of Congress
despite the sharp words between the White House and Capitol Hill. He
blamed Democrats for the lack of compromises, saying, "In order for us
to be able to reach accord, they got to come with one voice, one
position."

© 2007 The Associated Press.