tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222895431516507350.post-15277683566494847212008-02-22T09:43:00.003-05:002008-02-22T09:51:32.042-05:00I have a <a href="http://www.shaneharris.net/2008/02/iran-estimate-debate-persists.html">story</a> in today's <a href="http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/nj/index.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">National Journal</span></a> about the remarkable reaction to the <a href="http://www.odni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf">National Intelligence Estimate</a> on Iran's nuclear weapons program. As I reported this story, I was struck by the degree of confusion around the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">NIE's</span></span> key judgments, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">stemming</span> largely from how they were written.<br /><br />There are still many more questions to answer. But the fact that so many thoughtful people are expressing concern about what this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">NIE</span></span> really means, and what has happened since it was released, gives this document a new level of significance. It has also fundamentally altered the United States' posture towards Iran, in ways that we're only beginning to understand.Shane Harrisnoreply@blogger.com