They say that history repeats itself, but I didn’t think it cycled at quite this pace (WaPo, via memeorandum):
U.N. inspectors investigating Iran’s nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran’s capabilities, calling parts of the document “outrageous and dishonest” and offering evidence to refute its central claims.
Officials of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter that the report contained some “erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements.” The letter, signed by a senior director at the agency, was addressed to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence committee, which issued the report. A copy was hand-delivered to Gregory L. Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna.
Hmmm…. where have I heard all this before….?
“This is like prewar Iraq all over again,” said David Albright, a former nuclear inspector who is president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. “You have an Iranian nuclear threat that is spun up, using bad information that’s cherry-picked and a report that trashes the inspectors.”
Based on prior performance, Polimom’s credibility scale is tilted rather sharply toward the IAEA.
You know what’s really scary? I actually do think Iran may be a threat, but because I can’t trust the U.S. administration on this subject at all, I have absolutely no clue how worried I should be.
Considering their respective track records, though, I think I’ll have to take el Baradei for $1,000 for now, Alex.
Some more interesting similarities at A Tiny Revolution.