Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson issued the following statement today in regard to the latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago:

“The accuracy of the latest NIE on Iran should be received with a good deal of skepticism. Our intelligence community has often underestimated the intentions of adversaries, including Sadam Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea. And are all of the CIA detractors now going to take intelligence pronouncements at face value? It’s awfully convenient for a lot of people: the administration gets to say its policies worked; the Democrats get to claim we should have eased up on Iran a long time ago; and Russia and China can claim sanctions on Iran are not necessary. Who benefits from all this? Iran.”

“And what if the NIE estimate is accurate? It’s essentially an analysis of Iran’s intentions at a point in time. Meanwhile, Iran continues to enrich uranium for allegedly peaceful purposes, but which would allow them to easily transition to a nuclear weapons program at any point in the future. Maybe even now–now that so many seem willing to forget Iran’s past deceptions and ongoing intransigence. After all, a nuclear weapons program is simply an extension of the process by which uranium is enriched for civilian nuclear fuel. To this day Iran has yet to comply with international demands and its Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty requirements for open inspections and other safeguard measures.”

“The bottom line is that the United States must continue to improve its human intelligence capabilities and intelligence analysis. We must hope for the best, but not let our guard down for a moment. If something appears to be too good to be true, it very well may be.”

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson continued to rally support yesterday in South Carolina, a state the former Tennessee senator refers to as “my neck of the woods,” and one where his poll numbers remain competitive.

Making stops in such places as Greenville, Greer, and Spartanburg, Thompson touted his consistent conservative record and foreign affairs experience during his time in the United States Senate. “I’m just about the only guy in this race who hasn’t lost an election,” Mr. Thompson said, “and the guy you saw yesterday is the guy you see today…and it’s the same guy you’ll see tomorrow.”

While greeting supporters in coffee shops and restaurants around the state, Thompson addressed a variety of issues ranging from illegal immigration to the Second Amendment to South Carolina’s startling high school drop-out rate. He also offered his reaction to a new U.S. intelligence report that claims Iran ended its nuclear weapons program four years ago. The senator said he was skeptical of such a conclusion, adding that he’s lost confidence in the country’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.

“I hope that they are accurate with this assessment, but right now, I don’t have the confidence in our own intelligence capabilities to make that assessment,” he told a crowd of supporters at a gun shop in Greer, South Carolina. “One thing that crosses my mind is that this is information that the Iranians have put out, that they want us to kind of relax a little bit.”

A sense of humor sometimes provides welcome relief in a campaign increasing in intensity. That’s not difficult for Mr. Thompson, who some say is never without a witty remark–even when pressed on tough issues. At a gathering of supporters in a Greenville restaurant on Tuesday, one man asked Thompson what he plans to do on his first day if elected President:

Des Moines, Iowa-

Presidential candidate John Edwards(D) released a statement through his campaign, denouncing President George Bush’s “outrageous” comments on Iran , even when a new national intelligence estimate found that Iran had stopped their nuclear weapons efforts 4 years.

“I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program they halted the program,” The President said this morning during a press conference.”The reason why it’s a warning signal is they could restart it.”

Edwards criticized Bush for “saber-rattling” even when the new report showed Iran is ” no longer pursuing nuclear weapons.”
“Just a couple of months ago, George Bush was telling us Iran was about to start World War III,” he states.

“Bush still refuses to back from his outrageous rhetoric,” Edwards writes. ” Enough is Enough….We must once and for all reject the failed bellicose, neconservative foreign policy of the Bush administration.”

SEE FULL EDWARDS STATEMENT HERE:

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement:
“Just a couple of months ago, George Bush was telling us Iran was about to start World War III. Today – even after his own government just said that Iran stopped its program in 2003 and is no longer pursuing nuclear weapons – Bush still refuses to back down from his outrageous rhetoric.
“Enough is enough. At long last, the spin and the saber-rattling must stop. We must once and for all reject the failed, bellicose, neoconservative foreign policy of the Bush Administration, and get back to the foreign policy I have proposed based on diplomacy, reengagement, and restoring the moral authority of America.”

Edwards is participating in NPR’s Democratic debate today in Des Moines,where the assumption is that this subject will be brought during the
event.
Wire reports contributed to this report