My Mood? I'm Gonna Jihad!

Iranian President Mahmood Amadinejad has reason to be smug these days - In his eyes, he's just been vindicated.

The new The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report released on December 4th states that in 2003 the Iranian regime halted its nuclear weapons program. The New York Times and liberals in general have been having a field day with this, shouting from the proverbial rooftops about how Iran isn't a threat, seemingly to stave off any talk of a US-led invasion.

But what did the report really say?

For starters, the keyword to focus in on here is "halted", not "dismantled". In fact, the senior intelligence officals who gave the reporters their findings feel it is even possible that Iran's cessation of nuclear activity was part of a deceptive strategy, basing their beliefs on a continued policy of denial in other areas. They went on to say that there was a somewhat high likelihood that they were keeping open the option to resume operations at a later date.

As was the case with Saddam, there's no evidence that they destroyed one shred of nuclear weapons equipment. Unsurprisingly, the mullahs aren't exactly being forthcoming with the IAEA in regards to the inspection of their nuclear facilties.

One of the least-cited findings by the team was the increased agreement that Iran had in fact been running a covert nuclear weapons program, moreso than they felt in 2005 on the date of their last report. Just to remind our good readers, these reports are based on extensive evaluation of intelligence data. There's a much heftier stack of data on Iran now as opposed to two years ago because the US has taken a much closer look at Iran than they did in 2005.

Why? Well, let's look back at 2005 for a moment. Two things happened that year; one, Mahmood Amadinejad rose to power that year; and two, the US first became convinced that many of the terrorists in Iraq were coming from Iran.

But back to the present, let's not forget that Iran is still enriching uranium in their centrifuges to a high degree of purity. They state that their nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes only, yet some experts have raised alarm at the quality of the centrifuges they bought - units that could enrich weapons-grade uranium, not just the cheaper stuff needed to run a reactor.

Also not to forget are the remarks (and I use that term loosely) that Iranian President Mymood Ahmgonnajihad has made regarding Israel - among his reported assertions are:

• that Israel should be wiped off the map,
• that the Holocaust was a myth,
• that attempts to normalise relations with Israel were against their best interests,
• that Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was a trick,
• and that Israel should be relocated to Canada or Alaska so that they could have their own land.

That last one threw me, but it's clear this is a guy who just doesn't like Israel, or jews in general. That may sound like an understatment but it was intended for those of you still not paying attention, so let me summarize:

• The guy hates Israel. (no, really?)
• He has equipment good enough to build the bomb when it only has to be good enough to make a reactor.
• He won't let UN inspectors in to see what he's doing.
• The experts largely believe he still intends to build the bomb at a later date.
• Overwhelming evidence exists that he is responsible for sending terrorists into Iraq to incite unrest and cause the US to be delayed there longer.

Still think Iran isn't a threat?