[Reuters] U.S. Panel Faults Intelligence on Iran Weapons

Methinks Bush will not get tripped up on anything as unimportant as intellegence in his push to democratize/free/disarm Iran.

U.S. Panel Faults Intelligence on Iran Weapons
Wed Mar 9, 2005 12:06 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A presidential commission investigating prewar intelligence about Iraq's weapons has concluded that U.S. data on Iran's arms is "inadequate," The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people who have been briefed on the panel's work.

In a report to President Bush later this month, the panel will describe American intelligence on Iran "as inadequate to allow firm judgments about Iran's weapons program," the newspaper reported in an article posted on its Web site.

A spokesman for the nine-member commission declined direct comment on the New York Times report.

"The report itself isn't complete yet and the full details will be presented to the president," spokesman Larry McQuillan said.

Bush accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and called it part of an "axis of evil." Tehran insists its nuclear program is intended solely to generate electricity.

The New York Times report said one person who described the panel's deliberations and conclusions characterized American intelligence on Iran as "scandalous" given the importance and relative openness of the country, compared to North Korea.

The newspaper said its sources would not be more specific in describing the inadequacies. But it quoted former government officials who are experts on Iran as saying that American intelligence agencies have had little success in the kinds of human spying needed to understand Iranian decision-making.

The commission's report, after a 14-month investigation, was also expected to be sharply critical of American intelligence on North Korea. But some who have been briefed on the report said they regarded the record on Iran as more worrisome, The New York Times said.

The panel had unrestricted access to the most senior people and the most sensitive documents of the intelligence agencies, the newspaper said.

The commission was established to investigate flaws in the intelligence cited in launching the Iraq war. Claims that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were the main reason cited by Bush for the war.

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