The US National Intelligence Estimate is out...

And it's bad news for the pant-pissing crowd.

A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, contradicting an assessment two years ago that Tehran was working inexorably toward building a bomb.

This is the NIE that the Bush administration wanted redrafted.

The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to be major factor in the tense international negotiations aimed at getting Iran to halt its nuclear energy program. Concerns about Iran were raised sharply after President Bush had suggested in October that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to “World War III,” and Vice President Dick Cheney promised “serious consequences” if the government in Tehran did not abandon its nuclear program.

The Bush administration wasted no time in spinning this.

The national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, quickly issued a statement describing the N.I.E. as containing positive news rather than reflecting intelligence mistakes. “It confirms that we were right to be worried about Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons,” Mr. Hadley said. “It tells us that we have made progress in trying to ensure that this does not happen. But the intelligence also tells us that the risk of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a very serious problem.”

“The estimate offers grounds for hope that the problem can be solved diplomatically — without the use of force — as the administration has been trying to do,” Mr. Hadley said.

First off, sixteen different US intelligence agencies collaborated to produce this estimate and the final result says Bush and Cheney, pushing as hard as they could to garner support for an attack on Iran, were wrong. William Kristol was wrong; Jonah Goldberg was wrong; Rush Limbaugh was wrong; Victor Davis Hanson was wrong; they were all wrong.

Secondly, what rock has Hadley been living under? There is no diplomatic effort on the part of the Bush administration to deal with Iran. The Bush administration has rejected diplomatic discussions. It has refused to engage Iran with anything but rhetoric and threats.

Next up? You can expect Dick Cheney, between defibrillator therapy sessions, to tell us all that he has exclusive and much different information.

Must. See. What. Is. Happening. At. NRO.