December 5, 2007 (LPAC)--Washington sources have informed Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) analysts that the White House decision to release the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear program was, in part, motivated by the fear that, if the Bush Administration continued to conceal the report, it would soon be leaked to the national media, creating a scandal far more damaging than the Nixon-era leak of the Pentagon Papers. The NIE concluded that Iran had halted its pursuit of a nuclear weapon in the fall of 2003, and had probably not resumed the program as of summer 2007. The release of the declassified summary findings has, for now, blown a hole in Vice President Dick Cheney's plans to bomb Iran before the Administration leaves office.

According to the sources, senior officials in the U.S. intelligence community had made it clear that there were people willing to go to jail, in order to reveal the NIE findings and avert an unwarranted bombing of Iran; and that if the Administration continued to block its release, it would trigger another round of political warfare, pitting the CIA and other intelligence agencies against the White House. It is widely known that the top U.S . military brass, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, are opposed to any military attack on Iran. Drafts of the NIE had been completed months ago, and sources tell EIR that the drafts were sent back for further work, largely due to Cheney's efforts to block any findings that would undercut his war drive.

Lyndon LaRouche has also emphasized that there is a "Bush legacy" factor at play as well. Members of the Bush family, including former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, according to sources close to the family, are horrified at the prospect of G.W. leaving office with no accomplishments to show for his eight years in power. The Israel-Palestine and Israel-Syria peace deals offer the last, best chance to salvage the Bush Presidency and the family legacy. EIR has reported that former Bush Sr. National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft played a pivotal role in aiding Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her diplomatic efforts, leading into the Annapolis summit on Nov. 27. The inclusion of Syria in the Annapolis meeting opened the prospect for a Syria-Israel peace deal in the immediate period ahead. Such a deal has been promoted by Lyndon LaRouche as a key to rebuilding momentum towards a larger peace agreement.

According to several senior U.S. intelligence sources, an Israeli-Syrian final agreement was almost signed twice: in 1994-1995 and again in 2000. In the first instance, in the immediate aftermath of the Madrid Summit and the Oslo Accords, the United States had offered $11 billion in sophisticated surveillance systems to Israel, to guarantee their security against a Syrian attack; and had additionally promised to place a combat battalion on the Golan Heights, similar to the U.S. observer force in the Sinai, once the Golan had been returned to the Syrians. The deal was killed when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995.

While the new NIE on Iran and the modest success at Annapolis open the possibility of a turn away from war in the extended Southwest Asia region, Lyndon LaRouche still cautions that Vice President Cheney and others in the war party, while weakened, have not been removed from power; and the danger of war cannot be totally ruled out, as long as Cheney remains as Vice President.