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[[Image:Bncjcfjuh.jpg|right|thumb|Condoleeza Rice]]'''Condoleezza Rice''' is Seriously, why are you acknowledging relatively minor or crooked news stories in the 66th [[United States Secretary face of State]], and the first [[African-American]] woman to hold the post. Prior to assuming her duties as Secretary this! One of State, she served as [[National Security Advisor]] our biggest "enemies" turns out to [[President]] [[George Wbe less dangerous than we thought! A.. Bush]]. Her objective of transformational diplomacy is er... trusted? Public official lied tous for a year! Than again, "work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain democraticthis whole website was pretty much built on denial, so this may be harder than I previously anticipated. Ah, well-governed states that will respond , gives me something to the needs of their do. Oh, people -- and conduct themselves responsibly might be interested in the international system.reading my " As she stated at her confirmation hearingspam" because it isn't biased lies! Oh, "we must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now."<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/hottopics/Condoleezza_Rice.shtml Condoleezza Rice]. Newsmax.</ref>diss!

Dr. Rice earned her B. A. in [[politics|political]] [[science]] from the [[University of Denver]] in 1974 at age 19. The following yearBy TERENCE HUNT, she recieved her M.A. from the University of [[Notre Dame]]. She returned to the University of DenverAP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, where she was awarded the Ph.D. in 1981. In addition to [[English]], she speaks [[Russian]], [[French]], [[German]], and [[Spanish]].9:06 PM ET

Condoleeza was first an Assistant Professor at [[Stanford]] (1981–1987). She eventually earned tenureIn a bombshell intelligence assessment, becoming an Associate Professor (1987–1993), then Professor, and later Provost.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/2001/10/15/crice.html Provost].</ref> She was the first black, first woman and the youngest person to be Provost.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/black.history/stories/13.rice/index.html Hoover Institute].</ref> She was also a [[Hoover Institute]] fellow. Her primary expertise was the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Warsaw Pact]] nationsUnited States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.

As ProvostWhere there once was certainty, Drthere now is doubt. Rice balanced the budget"We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons, even though " the deficit was new estimate said to be impossibly large, a prediction which Rice happily proved wrong. <ref>[http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1999/june9/rice-69.html Stanford University]Monday.</ref>

== Career in Joint Chiefs and Compare that with what then-National Security Council ==Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons."

In 1986Just last month, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign RelationsPresident Bush, Rice served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. From 1989 to March 1991 she directed and also directed in at a senior positionnews conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, of Soviet said, "We talked about Iran and East European Affairs in the National Security Council. She was also Special Assistant desire to work jointly to convince the President of National Security Affairs. Rice was instrumental Iranian regime to help with developing Bush's and James Baker's policies to make full reunification of Germany. By 1990 she was already George H. W. Bush's principal advisor on give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the Soviet Union and one sake of his assistants for National Security Affairspeace. She impressed President [[George H.W. Bush]], so much, that he said to [[Gorbachev]] she "tells me everything I know about the [[Soviet Union]]."[http://dir.salon.com/story/politics2000/feature/2000/03/20/rice/index.html]

After the collapse of the Soviet UnionMore ominously, Rice returned to her teaching position at StanfordBush told a news conference Oct. 17, although she consulted on the former USSR for many. [[Pete Wilson]] appointed her to a bipartisan committee "I've told people that had been formed if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to draw new lines for voting. She was also be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a Federal Advisory Committee on men and woman training in the Militarynuclear weapon."

She was helping George W. Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush for his victorious campaign for President in 2000said, a later became a key advisor. She said in departure from "Yeah, I believe they want to have the failed Clinton policies of capacity, the 1990s and an articulation of knowledge, in order to make a new Bush plan at the convention speech “...America's armed forces are not a global police force. They are not the world's 911.”[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/elections/ricetext080100nuclear weapon.htm]"

== Advising of Bush's National Security ==Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him."

On 2000, Rice was appointed National Security Advisor and no longer served at StanfordIntelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. She was the first woman ever They came to serve in the position. Over 2001, Rice worked with CIA Director George Tenet almost daily White House last Wednesday and briefed him on terrorism and national security issuestheir new findings.

In early 2003, former [[First Lady]] and now Senator [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] spoke The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of disarming [[mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein]]: "this is something that I have followed for a decade. If he were serious about disarming he would have been much more forthcoming...there is no accounting for the chemical and biological stocks." Dr. Rice repeated these sentiments in an article in had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush''[[New York Times]]'' entitled ''Why We Know Iraq Is Lying,'' "instead of implementing national initiatives s decision to disarm, invade Iraq maintains institutions whose sole purpose is to thwart the work . It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of the inspectors."[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030123-1mass destruction.html]

Leading up to the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Rice campaigned for the incumbent president. She used this moment to state her belief that Saddam's government in Iraq contributed to the instability that produced the opportunity for a terrorist attack like the 9/11 attacks Democrats on America. At a Pittsburgh, she said "While Saddam Hussein had nothing Monday did not hesitate to do with the actual attacks on America, Saddam Hussein's suggest an Iran-Iraq was a part of the Middle East that was festering and unstable, [and] was part of the circumstances that created the problem on September 11comparison."

*Carnegie Corporation*Carnegie Endowment for International Peace*Charles Schwab Corporation*Chevron Corporation*Hewlett Packard*Rand Corporation*Transamerica Corporation*William "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and Flora Hewlett Foundation*KQED*Jappropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said.P"The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran. Morgan Chase*University of Notre Dame*San Francisco Symphony*Center for New Generation*California and East Menlo Park*Vice President Boys and Girls Clubs of America of San Francisco*National Council for Soviet and East European Studies*Stanford Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition*Woodrow Wilson Center"

*Germany Unified Iran continues to develop, test and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft (1995) *The Gorbachev Era (1986)*The Soviet Union deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the Czechoslovak Army, 1948same technology to produce weapons-1983: Uncertain Allegiance (1984)grade uranium," Hadley said.

{{DEFAULTSORTThe White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9: Rice06 PM ET WASHINGTON - First Iraq, Condoleeza}}now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.[[CategoryADVERTISEMENT In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs. Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9:Educators]]06 PM ET[[categoryWASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.ADVERTISEMENT In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs. Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9:06 PM ET WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States Government]]has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.==External links==ADVERTISEMENT*[httpIn a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs. Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9://www06 PM ET WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran.indepthinfoThe United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.com/condoleezzaADVERTISEMENT In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-rice/indexironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs.shtml Biography  Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of Condoleezza Rice]peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9:06 PM ET WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.ADVERTISEMENT In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs. Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9:06 PM ET WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.ADVERTISEMENT In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs. Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration. By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon Dec 3, 9:06 PM ET WASHINGTON - First Iraq, now Iran. The United States has operated under a cloud of faulty intelligence in both countries.ADVERTISEMENT In a bombshell intelligence assessment, the United States has backed away from its once-ironclad assertion that Tehran is intent on building nuclear bombs. Where there once was certainty, there now is doubt. "We do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons," the new estimate said Monday. Compare that with what then-National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress in January. "Our assessment is that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons." Just last month, President Bush, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said, "We talked about Iran and the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, for the sake of peace." More ominously, Bush told a news conference Oct. 17, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Asked then if he definitely believed that Iran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, Bush said, "Yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the president made comments like those "because he was describing the threat as the intelligence community itself had been describing the threat both publicly and in their briefings to him." Intelligence officials advised Bush several months ago that they were reevaluating their assessments about Iran. They came to the White House last Wednesday and briefed him on their new findings. The intelligence flip-flop recalled the embarrassing reversal that Bush was forced to make on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The conviction that Saddam Hussein had such weapons was one of the factors behind Bush's decision to invade Iraq. It since has been determined that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Democrats on Monday did not hesitate to suggest an Iran-Iraq comparison. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats had requested the new Iran assessment "so that the administration could not rush this Congress and the country to another war based on flawed intelligence." "I hope this administration reads this report carefully and appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy vis-a-vis Iran," Reid said. "The administration should begin this process by finally undertaking a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran." In the case of Iran, though, the White House has not dropped its suspicions that Tehran could pursue a nuclear bomb. Iran continues to develop, test and deploy ballistic missiles, and its civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. "It can readily use the same technology to produce weapons-grade uranium," Hadley said. In rewriting the conclusions about Iran, the new estimate said Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program but halted that effort in the fall of 2003 under the weight of international pressure. Importantly, the estimate said Iran has not restarted the nuclear bomb program. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," the new estimate said. While key facts have changed, the administration's strategy has not. The White House says it will continue to try to build pressure on Iran to prevent it from ever acquiring nuclear bombs. "The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure," Hadley said. "And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution." Some analysts believe the new conclusions will be a roadblock for Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration to be more confrontational toward Iran. "It's a good thing that we caught this before we marched headlong into another military conflict," said Jon Wolfsthal, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This isn't the timebomb the administration made it out to be for the last several years." Wolfsthal said the conclusion that international pressure prompted Iran to halt its program "is the piece of information that we missed in Iraq" where Bush believed that Iraq's pursuit of WMD was continuing despite sanctions. He said the administration did not appear inclined to change its strategy toward Iran. He said that "suggests they can't take yes for an answer." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Terence Hunt has covered the White House for The Associated Press since the Reagan administration.