mushroom_cloud.jpgThe National Intelligence Estimate on the subject, representing the consensus of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, is that Iran halted weapons development in 2003, probably couldn’t process enough fuel for a bomb until the middle of the next decade, if it were to resume efforts to make such a weapon.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I had been plenty worried that 2008 was going to be a year of buildup to a U.S. bombing attack on Iran. This is going to make it a lot harder to build the case for any such idea.

Here’s a PDF of the NIE’s key conclusions.

Here’s the New York Times bulletin on the report.