Obama Administration: Report Shows Iran More Determined Than Ever to Build Nuclear Weapon
EmailSenior officials from the Obama administration called a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear program “disturbing,” and suggested Iran's leaders are more determined than ever to pursue a nuclear weapon.
"The fact that they have increased the level of non-cooperation indicated to me that unless we can mount the international pressure to stop it, that this program is heading more and more in the direction of seeking a weapons capability," a senior administration official. "The pattern of behaviors is one that I think is very disturbing.”
“There is less and less credibility to the Iranian statement that their program is peaceful and much stronger international recognition that we are facing a country that is seeking a nuclear weapons capability," the official said.
The report states in relatively stark terms that “outstanding issues” that remain unresolved raise “concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile. These alleged activities consist of a number of projects and sub-projects, covering nuclear and missile related aspects, run by military related organizations.”
This is the first time the IAEA has referred to possible “ongoing activities” related to nuclear weaponization, a senior administration official observed.
Another first, the official said, the IAEA saying that “Iran has not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”
This conclusion would contradict a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate from the US intelligence community suggesting that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program years before.
When asked if the White House believes the IAEA report or the 2007 NIE estimate, officials had no comment except to suggest that they were looking forward to the new NIE on Iran, which they said was in the works.
Previous IAEA reports had expressed frustration with Iran not cooperating, but the language in this one was more direct. When asked why they thought the language had changed – whether because the IAEA has a new Director-General, or some other reason – a senior administration official said, “when you look at Iranian behavior, that’s changed.”
Ever since the discovery of the secret facility at Qom, there have been serious breaches by the Iranians exceeding previous behavior, including the lack of cooperation detailed in the IAEA report and the statement by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this month that, "God willing, 20 percent enrichment will start."
In his statement, broadcast on state television, Ahmadinejad then turned to Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, and said: "Begin production of 20 percent.”
On Air Force One en route to Colorado, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the report demonstrates “the failure of the Iranian government to live up to its international obligations….We've always said that if Iran failed to live up to those international obligations, that there would be consequences.”
Officials would not say, however, when the US would present a new draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council proposing new sanctions against Iran.
One official said the report was a “good news, bad news” situation.
The good news is that “the report documents significant technical problems Iran continues to have” regarding its nuclear program. The bad news, officials said, is that Iran seems more determined than ever to pursue a nuclear weapon.
-jpt
Can Mitt Romney Win Conservatives Back? 
Possible Contraception Compromise in D.C.
So tell us SOMETHING we don’t know…..
Posted by: Parallax View | February 18, 2010, 6:15 pm 6:15 pm
When they talk about possible “ongoing activities” it means we have pretty good evidence of same.
Weapons of mass destruction in Iran.
Isn’t this where we came in on Saddam Hussein???
Posted by: Dell | February 18, 2010, 6:28 pm 6:28 pm
Who cares. If they get them hopefully our dumb threats of bombing them will cease.
Posted by: Ben | February 18, 2010, 6:40 pm 6:40 pm
Dear George,
Now that I’ve been president for 13 months, I realize how annoying I must have been to you while I was campaigning, and later when I was occupying the Office of The President Elect.
I was constantly criticizing you policy of trying to get Iran’s neighbors involved in pressuring them to stop trying to get nuclear weapons technology. I said you were “out-sourcing” our foreign policy and I said that I would have direct talks without pre-conditions. I assured the American people that I would succeed where you were a miserable failure.
Well, time has passed and all my theories have finally been shown to be not founded in reality. So now I am trying to get the World Community to come in and bail me out.
Anyway, I have finally realized that it is much easier to criticize a president than it is to be one. My humble apologies.
Your Friend,
Barrack
Posted by: Quo Warranto | February 18, 2010, 6:55 pm 6:55 pm
“So now I am trying to get the World Community to come in and bail me out.
__________________________________
Nonsense, the first thing Obama did was work to get allies, the United Nations, Russia and others on side to pressure the Iran government.
Posted by: tierra | February 18, 2010, 7:12 pm 7:12 pm
See Mr. Obama has been fooling a lot of people. Since beginning of time, there’s always have been rain, snow, and suffering. But he told his followers that there will be no more rain, no more snow, no more partisanship.
Posted by: young_voter | February 18, 2010, 7:32 pm 7:32 pm
Isn’t this where we came in on Saddam Hussein???
Many liberals and Dems agreed. Then they disagreed but they still kept funding the war. Go figure…
Posted by: WMD is for Me! | February 18, 2010, 7:37 pm 7:37 pm
What if the intel is wrong? No worry, they’ll deficit fund us out of it.
Posted by: smartlillena | February 18, 2010, 8:05 pm 8:05 pm
It seems Mr. Obama inherited the problem with Iran — from the Democrats in Congress, including himself.
In 2007 Mr. Bush was trying to rally support for strong, possibly military action to halt the Iranian nuclear program. Then a bombshell revelation. A surprising new National Intelligence Estimate was issued saying that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program.
This was promptly touted by the Democrats to undermine Mr. Bush’s efforts and to portray him in a bad light. This totally undermined his efforts.
Where are those who put out this National Intelligence Estimate? Why are they not summoned before congress to explain how they could have had it so wrong? Where are all the Democrats who were so enthusiastically criticizing Mr. Bush?
Posted by: Quo Warranto | February 18, 2010, 8:21 pm 8:21 pm
The IAEA says that they CAN confirm that no materials are being diverted from peaceful purposes, but they CANNOT prove that there aren’t any materials that are being used for other purposes.
In other words they can prove that everything that Iran said is true, but they cannot prove that everything the US said is untrue.
Posted by: Flash Override | February 18, 2010, 9:17 pm 9:17 pm
Then a bombshell revelation. A surprising new National Intelligence Estimate was issued saying that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program.
_____________________________________
You can’t blame the Democrats for information put together by National Intelligence . .. sorry. Nice try.
Posted by: tierra | February 18, 2010, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm
You can’t blame the Democrats for information put together by National Intelligence . .. sorry. Nice try.
Posted by: tierra | Feb 18, 2010 9:19:29 PM
——–
National intelligence consists of faceless bureaucrats. One thing Mr. Clinton did with a vengeance was populate the bureaucracies with democrats, especially former congressional staffers. One thing Mr. Bush did not do was to purge the bureaucracy of these political hacks, and they subsequently attained the status of “career civil servants.” They worked diligently throughout the Bush administration to undermine him at every turn.
The Democrats in Congress seized upon every opportunity, including this bogus National Intelligence Estimate to try to embarrass Mr. Bush and to stop the efforts he was making on behalf of the American People.
So, yes, I guess I can fault them…. and I do.
Posted by: Quo Warranto | February 18, 2010, 9:33 pm 9:33 pm
You can’t blame the Democrats for information put together by National Intelligence . .. sorry. Nice try.
Posted by: tierra | Feb 18, 2010 9:19:29 PM
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! It was the intelligence that was wrong about WMDs in Iraq. Yet you on the Left and the Left-leaning “mainstream” media hammered “Bush lied” for 5 years. Many of you on the Left still won’t say that Clinton, Gore and many of the Democrats in Congress “lied” about WMDs.
Posted by: James Danley | February 18, 2010, 9:58 pm 9:58 pm
National Intelligence consists of faceless bureaucrats.
________________________________
Hahaha . . . now Bush isn’t even responsible for National Intelligence – according to the Republican right.
Is there anything he was actually responsible for?
Posted by: tierra | February 19, 2010, 12:45 am 12:45 am
It was the intelligence that was wrong about WMDs in Iraq. Yet you on the Left and the Left-leaning “mainstream” media hammered “Bush lied” for 5 years.
_________________________________
Nonsense. Learn your own history!
Bush and Cheney put together the Office of Special Projects (outside of the CIA) to cull together suspect and unsupported – information to justify the attack on Iraq.
“The Office of Special Plans (OSP), which existed from September 2002 to June 2003, was a Pentagon unit created by Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, and headed by Feith, as charged by then-United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to supply senior George W. Bush administration officials with raw intelligence (unvetted by intelligence analysts) pertaining to Iraq.”
Posted by: tierra | February 19, 2010, 12:52 am 12:52 am
It was the intelligence that was wrong about WMDs in Iraq. Yet you on the Left and the Left-leaning “mainstream” media hammered “Bush lied” for 5 years.
_________________________________
Nonsense. Learn your own history!
Bush and Cheney put together the Office of Special Plans (outside of the CIA) to cull together suspect and unsupported – information to justify the attack on Iraq.
“The Office of Special Plans (OSP), which existed from September 2002 to June 2003, was a Pentagon unit created by Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, and headed by Feith, as charged by then-United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to supply senior George W. Bush administration officials with raw intelligence (unvetted by intelligence analysts) pertaining to Iraq.”
Posted by: tierra | February 19, 2010, 12:58 am 12:58 am
There is a difference in Bush taking intel from his own national intel/security folks and President Obama taking info from the UN.
Posted by: Lowell Browning | February 19, 2010, 4:16 am 4:16 am
This does sound familiar.. WMD and a fanatical mouthy leader shutting down all political opposition by any means necessary. Does anyone see a military conflict on the horizon.. oh, and Iran has lots of oil and they hate Israel.. is this the perfect storm or what? Add a dash of Al Qaeda and the stew is ready to serve up.. with or without Euro dinner guests.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | February 19, 2010, 6:31 am 6:31 am
I believe “UN intel” is an oxymoron. That said, Obama is right to pursue this and act accordingly to protect us. Arguing with Obama apologists doesn’t change the fact that this is a serious threat.
Posted by: ConservativeWoman | February 19, 2010, 8:21 am 8:21 am
The intelligence that Bush received is the same intelligence that prompted:
Sen. Levin (D-MI) to LIE on Sep 19, 2002: “We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.”
Former VP Al Gore to LIE on Sept 23, 2002: “”We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”
Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) to LIE on Sep 27, 2002: “We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.”
Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV) to LIE on Oct 10, 2002: “There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years … We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction.”
BUT ALSO…
Former President Clinton to LIE on Feb 17, 1998: “If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”
Former National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger, to LIE on Feb 18, 1998: “He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983.”
Sens. Levin (D-MI, Kerry (D-MA), former Sen. Daschle (D-SD) and others to LIE in a letter to President Clinton on Oct 9, 1998: “[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”
Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) to LIE on Dec 16, 1998: “Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”
ALL LIES! At least admit that the Democrats LIED to the American people about Iraq’s WMDs.
Posted by: James Danley | February 19, 2010, 10:01 am 10:01 am
“We know where they [Iraq's WMD] are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat….I would also add, we saw from the air that there were dozens of trucks that went into that facility after the existence of it became public in the press and they moved things out. They dispersed them and took them away. So there may be nothing left. I don’t know that. But it’s way too soon to know. The exploitation is just starting.”
Donald Rumsfeld Mar 2003
Posted by: Ryan C | February 19, 2010, 1:46 pm 1:46 pm
“One thing Mr. Bush did not do was to purge the bureaucracy of these political hacks, and they subsequently attained the status of “career civil servants.”
They worked diligently throughout the Bush administration to undermine him at every turn.”
What a complete farce.
See Monica Goodling at the DOJ for just a taste of how the Bush admin politicized various departments.
Though there was one Clinton holdover in intelligence, George Tenet head of CIA.
George Bush was so furious at Tenet’s incompetence for missing 9/11 and WMD’s that he gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Posted by: Ryan C | February 19, 2010, 1:50 pm 1:50 pm
The intelligence that Bush received is the same intelligence that prompted:
___________________________________
The intelligence Bush received was contrived by the special group he put together to feed him the intelligence he and the neo-cons wanted . ..
“The Office of Special Plans (OSP), which existed from September 2002 to June 2003, was a Pentagon unit created by Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, and headed by Feith, as charged by then-United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to supply senior George W. Bush administration officials with raw intelligence (unvetted by intelligence analysts) pertaining to Iraq.”
Posted by: tierra | February 19, 2010, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
This could mean full employment for the U.S. Military and their merry band of contract employees.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | February 19, 2010, 3:40 pm 3:40 pm
“The intelligence Bush received was contrived…”
Posted by: tierra | Feb 19, 2010 2:02:57 PM
——-
So how did this contrived intelligence result in the Democrats LYING in 1998 and earlier?
Posted by: James Danley | February 19, 2010, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm
During the campaign BHO was not worried about Iran. Now look at what is happening. They were not a real threat, remember?
Posted by: carol in Alabama | February 19, 2010, 5:53 pm 5:53 pm
For a second there I thought I read the headline to say that Obama was more determined than ever to have a nuclear weapon. After reflecting on what this I actually started admiring him for it. Then I read it again and my shoulders slumped.
Posted by: EPU | February 19, 2010, 6:09 pm 6:09 pm
More proof that President Obama’s
foreign policy initiatives aka
Blah, Blah, Blah are working! NOT!
Wake up fool!
The only thing a bully understands is
a Bash in the Head! Duh!
Posted by: reaganfan | February 22, 2010, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm