Dan Coats: “we have been seized with obviously pressing issues and emergencies, and I fear we have not been paying enough attention…”

“we have been seized with obviously pressing issues and emergencies, and I fear we have not been paying enough attention to the issue of Iran and the growing nuclear threat posed by that country. The recent release of the report by the International Atomic Energy Commission has returned the Iran nuclear issue to the front pages and, hopefully, to the top of our list of priority issues that need to be discussed and need to be evaluated. The IAEA nuclear watchdog, which I visited last March with a group of Members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, has never been an instrument of U.S. policy. In fact, it has often offered perspectives contrary to America's views or preferences and has rigorously defended its objectivity independent of individual governments. Therefore, I think this latest report has all the more weight that we should give serious consideration to. This objective organization of nuclear experts has had unrivaled access to information and sources within Iran. It has stripped away the veneer of ambiguity and uncertainty about Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Iran is after the bomb, and we all know it. We can see the proof in this IAEA report, including compelling detail about Iran amassing fissile material, designing explosive trigger devices, and developing delivery systems. The report details the way in which Iran has relentlessly pursued this objective over the years and from whom it has obtained assistance.…”