posted May 20, 2006 12:59 PM              

Intelligence Update On Iran Is Requested
Senate Democrats Write President
Associated Press
Saturday, May 20, 2006; Page A09

Senate Democrats, saying they want to "avoid repeating mistakes made in the run-up to the conflict in Iraq," wrote President Bush yesterday urging him to direct U.S. agencies to prepare an updated National Intelligence Estimate on Iran.

"We must have objective intelligence untainted by political considerations or policy preferences and a comprehensive debate in the Congress about the best short and long-term approaches to resolving the international community's differences with Iran," the letter said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has accused Iran of failing to answer questions about its nuclear program. In late March, it reported Tehran to the Security Council and gave the country one month to address the demands.

The Bush administration has been sounding warnings about Iran's nuclear abilities and potential ambitions.

The Democrats, wary of a repeat of the administration's warnings about alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which turned out not to exist, stressed in their letter that they, like the administration, are seriously concerned about Iran.

"An Iranian nuclear weapons program would be a significant threat to international peace and security," they wrote. "Iran's refusal to conclusively explain or halt its uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities and its acquisition of ballistic missiles, coupled with the troubling rhetoric of its president, presents serious challenges to security in the Middle East and requires the United States to energetically pursue a diplomatic solution.

"The international community must not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, and Iran must know that it ultimately will not succeed in undermining international peace and stability," the letter said.

It was signed by Harry M. Reid (Nev.), the Senate minority leader; Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), assistant minority leader; John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.), vice chairman of the intelligence committee; Carl M. Levin (Mich.), senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee; and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.