WHY WAS THE NIE RELEASED?....A couple of random thoughts on the newly released NIE concluding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003:  — This NIE was apparently finished a year ago, and its basic parameters were almost certainly common knowledge in the White House well before that.

Revisionism and The Iranian Non-Bomb  —  The latest news from Iran about the supposed abandonment in 2003 of the effort to produce a Bomb — if even remotely accurate — presents somewhat of a dilemma for liberal Democrats.  —  Are they now to suggest that Republicans have been warmongering …

WELL, THAT'S CONVENIENT: "A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, contradicting an assessment two years ago that Tehran was working inexorably toward building a bomb."

Five Questions Concerning the Latest NIE  —  The story dominating the news cycle right now is the public release of "Key Judgments" from an NIE on Iran's nuclear program.  In particular, the first sentence of the NIE is drawing the press's intention: "We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003 …

Beginning of the End of the Clinton Campaign (Ron Christie)  —  To be honest, I never thought in the first few days of December I would proffer that the Hillary Campaign for President is near the end.  To wit, her national poll numbers have been plummeting since she seemed unable to answer …

Losing Ground In Iowa, Clinton Assails Obama  —  With a new poll showing her losing ground in the Iowa caucus race, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) mounted a new, more aggressive attack against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Sunday, raising direct questions about his character …