The truth is that neither the U.S. intelligence community, nor the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor anybody else outside a very small circle in Iran has certain knowledge about the current state of Irans nuclear-weapons program, or how far it is from producing one or more usable devices.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Where��s our Churchill?

The problem was compounded by others Negroponte also brought in from State, notably his assigning of the appallingly inadequate former U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kenneth Brill, as the Director of the Counter-Proliferation Center and of Foggy Bottom "expert" Vann Van Diepen as the National Intelligence Officer for non-proliferation matters.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Intelligence mis-estimates