Apparently for Israel, any US intelligence report telling the truth is a "blow" when it comes to Iran.
However, the timing couldn't be more interesting, what with Olmert in Washington, pleading for a military strike, and McConnell in Jerusalem getting a "cooked consensus" from Israeli intelligence folks who are foaming at the mouth with their eagerness to get the US to strike Iran militarily.
REUTERS
Reuters North American News Service
Jun 04, 2008 14:15 EST
JERUSALEM, June 4 (Reuters) - Mike McConnell, the director of U.S. national intelligence, is in Israel to hear its spymasters' arguments that Iran could obtain nuclear weapons within two years, Israeli officials said on Wednesday.
(Which, of course, ignores the fact that this would only be true if Iran decided to TRY and do this, which it is not, and which would involve a massive expansion of its programs, which would be immediately apparent to the many agencies and eyes watching Theran's every move.)
Last year's U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) found that Iran -- which denies seeking the bomb -- had shelved a military nuclear programme in 2003 though it could still potentially produce warheads in the next decade.
(Actually, it found, as is true of the UN, that there was no evidence of a weaponization program. This single contrary claim - sensationalized by the same media that helped sell these Extremists' LIES about Iraq - came from a single, dubious source, and has never been independently verified by credible evidence.)
The report was a blow to Israel, which is believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal and says its arch-foe's uranium enrichment projects could yield a first bomb by 2010.
(It was a 'blow' only in that it exposed Israel's LIES, which were disseminated with the sole intent of feigning a justification for another illegal war in the region, which it had planned years ago, to follow its war on Iraq.)
Closing ranks on the issue could be key to authorising any future military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities -- an option both Israel and the United States have said is available should U.N. Security Council sanctions fail to rein in Tehran.
("Rein them in" from what, exactly?)
McConnell's visit came as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in Washington to confer with U.S. President George W. Bush about Iran and other regional security issues.
"He (McConnell) is here as part of our debate on how advanced the Iranian project is. It's a matter of comparing methods of gathering intelligence, as well as how to analyse it," an Israeli defence official said.
(Or in other words, how to ignore the facts, and make a report on something that isn't true sound as if it actually is ...)
McConnell was slated to meet Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday before departing. The U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv had no comment on the intelligence director's visit.
Source: Reuters North American News Service
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=197900
Iran: Former German official says War Imminent
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399921.html
Iran Will Cooperate with UN Probe into US/Israeli Allegations
http://www.winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?13896S
Israel's Syrian Air Strike Was Aimed at Iran
http://www.winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8196S
The ME has had a Secretive Nuclear Power in its Midst for Years
http://www.winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8195S
Spooks Refuse to Toe Cheney's Line on Iran
http://www.winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8173S
IAEA Again Verifies Iranian Compliance
http://www.winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8130S
Israel Considering Strike on Iran Despite US Intelligence Report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2224052,00.html
US intelligence report heightens danger of Israeli strike on Iran
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/isra-d06.shtml
'Laptop of Death': Revising the NIE on Iran
The entire claim that Iran was building nuclear weapons rests on a laptop provided by a single, dubious source.
http://www.antiwar.com/ips/akhavi.php?articleid=12028 www.antiwar.com/prather/?articleid=12025
Israeli Extremists Prep for Nuclear Strike on Iran http://www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7903/index.php
Hersh: Israel Pressed me to Write Syrian Site was Nuclear http://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/Sy_Hersh_Israeli_raid_on_Syria_0208.html
Sy Hersh confirms: Syrian Facility Bombed by Israel Not Nuclear
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10935S
A Strike in the Dark - What did Israel bomb in Syria?
by Seymour M. Hersh http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/02/11/080211fa_fact_hersh/?printable=tr
War Clouds Over Mideast
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=108719&d=8&m=4&y=2008
Israel & The 'Clash of Civilizations'
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?11022S
The largest threat to the region doesn't come from Iran: it comes from Israel's success in having had the US "neutralize" countries which it believes to be an existential threat to it's existence. However, there's just one little problem with this approach concerning Iran. Russia's diplomats have stated unequivocally that any attack against Iran will be perceived as an attack on Russia.
UN Nuclear Watchdog in Milestone Iran Deal
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14262S
Iran Dumps US Dollar in Oil Trading, US Preps War
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14276S
Israel's Extremists STILL Beating Iran War Drums
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14360S
Iran Mosque Blast Plotters Admit Israeli, US Links
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14997S
Israel, US Joint Plotting Against Iran, Attack ElBaredei http://www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7888/index.php llll
ElBaradei: Iran Not After Bomb
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399278.html
Israel Calls for US Blockade of Iran http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399342.html
US Report on 'Iranian Weapons' Postponed Due to Lack of Evidence
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?17560C
Pakistan May Turn Over U.S. Terrorists To Iran http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399471.html
Iranian Mosque Blast Plotters Admit Israeli, US Links http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399467.html
Bombing Iran: Extremists' Mad Clamor Persists http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399468.html
Carter: Israel Has At Least 150 Nukes http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399591.html
IAEA Again Confirms: No Weaponization in Iran
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399625.html
And the Winner Is ... The Israel Lobby
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JF03Ak01.html
"Hate Iran Week" at AIPAC
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/06/400180.html