The U.S. and Israel have yet to retract their claws when it comes to Iran. The recently published U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) clearly states Tehran doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program, which logically should dampen fears.

But instead of drawing comfort from the findings of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, George W. Bush and Ehud Olmert are out there hyping up a non-existent threat, while their sycophants work hard at blowing as many holes in the NIE as they can.U.S. President George W. Bush’s skewed logic goes like this. According to the NIE, in 2003, Iran abandoned a covert nuclear program, which it could decide to reconstitute at any time. Therefore, he says, Iran remains a danger to the world.He also stated that at the time he made his ‘third world war’ speech he was in the dark as to the NIE’s conclusions. “Nobody told me,” he said with a straight face.Few are biting, especially since the veteran investigate reporter Seymour Hersh reported in July last year that “American and European intelligence agencies have not found specific evidence of clandestine activities or hidden facilities” in Iran.Then, in November 2006, Hersh announced on CNN that his sources had told him about a classified draft CIA assessment that arrived at the same conclusion. Is it conceivable that a reporter was in possession of the facts, while the U.S. president was kept out of the loop?Hersh insists the intelligence “has been circulating inside this government at the highest levels for the last year and probably longer”.The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is similarly in denial. A nuke-free Iran was not what he wanted to hear when he, like Bush, has been pushing China, Russia and Western allies to ratchet-up anti-Iranian UN sanctions.Israel will work together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to expose the Iranian military’s plan to develop a nuclear weapon, he said. Problem is IAEA Director-General Mohammad Al Baradei, head of the nuclear watchdog, has consistently rebutted accusations that Tehran has any such intentions and been heavily criticized by the U.S. for so doing.President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rightly felt vindicated, while heads of state in this part of the world were relieved.DispatchedBut it wasn’t long before the U.S. Defense Minister Bob Gates was dispatched to the region to stir the anti-Iranian pot before America’s allies became complacent. He was no doubt concerned that for the first time Persian Gulf States had invited Iran to attend a regional security conference.In the event, Iran passed up the invitation but despite the absence of this major player, GCC countries signaled their wish for dialogue with Iran and rejected any military option.“We want the military factor to be eliminated,” said the GCC’s Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al Attiyah. “What we care for in the GCC is finding solutions that enhance security and stability and we believe in dialogue as a way to solve this crisis.”Iraqi leaders who attended the summit were like-minded, urging the U.S. to engage with Tehran else risk regional insecurity. The Iraqi Vice-President Tariq Al Hashemi said he believes Iran holds the key for stability and peace within the region and stressed that “the nuclear issue should be sorted out in round-table discussions”.Let’s be realistic for a moment. Iran hasn’t invaded another country for hundreds of years, hasn’t been belligerent towards its neighbors and, according to the Western intelligence community, doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program. So where exactly is the threat?Surely, the real and present danger to this region is Israel, which, unlike Iran, possesses an actual nuclear arsenal, is occupying Arab land and launched a war against a neighbor just last year, resulting in thousands of dead and maimed Lebanese civilians.Of course, Gates would beg to differ. When asked about Israel’s nukes he said they posed no threat to the region. Oh well. At least he provided the delegates with a good chuckle by all accounts.Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs.(Gulf News)