American fears over Iranian 'threat'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Concern, especially among Republicans, is growing over a possible intelligence failure on Iran that could rival the one on Iraq but they fear this time Washington may be underestimating, not exaggerating, the threat.
A Republican-led House Intelligence committee report depicts the Islamic regime in Tehran as a mounting danger. It complains that US spy agencies, chastened by the debacle over Saddam Hussein's non-existent weapons of mass destruction, may by adopting an over-cautious view of Iran's presumed drive to acquire nuclear weapons, and of its backing of the Hizbollah in Lebanon.
"Intelligence community managers and analysts ... must not shy away from provocative conclusions or bury disagreements in consensus assessments," the report says, adding that the CIA and other agencies still "do not know nearly enough" about Tehran's nuclear plans, and the state of its chemical and biological weapon programmes.
The document was written by a Republican staff member of the committee who once worked for the John Bolton, the hardline US ambassador to the United Nations, who believes that Washington should address the Iranian challenge head-on.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments