We Reformed the Intel Community

US Defence Secretary Gates calls for more help for Afghanistan - 4 Dec 2007 at 11:09am - KABUL (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he was pushing the world's countries for more commitment to Afghanistan's fight against growing extremist violence.

Does this constitute an admission that the Iraq war has been draining resources that should have been allocated to Afghanistan?

IAEA: US Iran Report Matches UN Agency - Dec 4, 9:07 AM EST - VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- A U.S. intelligence review that concludes Iran stopped developing a nuclear weapons program in 2003 is consistent with the U.N. atomic watchdog agency's own findings and "should help to "defuse the current crisis," the organization's chief said Tuesday.

ElBaradei 2, Bush/Cheney 0

Karzai: Afghan military needs equipment - 4 Dec 2007 at 10:55am - KHOST, Afghanistan -- The Afghanistan military needs more trainers and equipment in order to gain control of the country's security, President Hamid Karzai and his defense chief told Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday.

Now Online, a Guide to Detainee Treatment - 4 Dec 2007 at 12:00am - [HatTip: Slashdot] As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments this week on the rights of enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the public is getting another peek at how detainees have been treated there.

15-month tours of Iraq likely for awhile - 4 Dec 2007 at 2:01pm - WASHINGTON -- The No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq said Tuesday that 15-month combat tours are too long for U.S. soldiers but probably cannot be shortened until next fall as troop levels decline.

U.S. envoy says State Dept. knew of pulled U.N. text - 4 Dec 2007 at 2:23pm - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Washington's U.N. envoy denied on Tuesday he had failed to consult the State Department before putting a Middle East resolution to the U.N. Security Council that he later withdrew after Israel objected.

Bush keeps up pressure on Tehran - 4 Dec 2007 at 3:03pm - WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Tuesday that the international community should continue to pressure Iran on its nuclear programs, asserting Tehran remains dangerous despite a new intelligence conclusion that it halted its development of a nuclear bomb four years ago.

From GWB's press conference: "You know, I want to compliment the intelligence community for their good work. Right after the failure of intelligence in Iraq, we reformed the intel community so that there was a lot of serious consideration of NIEs in a way that would give us confidence. And here's a - I think, a very important product that is a result of the reforms we've put in place."

But there was no "failure of intelligence" regarding Iraq and WMDs. There was, foremost, a determined effort by the White House -- and by those sympathetic to its extreme anti-Saddam bent -- to twist the intelligence into something it wasn't: evidence at a high level of confidence either of existing WMDs or of an ongoing WMD program. There was also a failure on the part of Congress, the media, and ordinary Americans to press the White House to explain the apparent contradiction between portions of the NIE that had been released to the public and its public statements regarding the certainty that Saddam had WMDs.

Thought for the day:
Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. -Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)