Amid fallout from report, Bush refuses to back down on Iran

? Defending his credibility, President Bush said Tuesday that Iran is dangerous and must be squeezed by international pressure despite a blockbuster intelligence finding that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

Bush said the new conclusion – contradicting earlier U.S. assessments – would not prompt him to take off the table the possibility of pre-emptive military action against Iran. Nor will the United States change its policy of trying to isolate Iran diplomatically and punish it with sanctions, he said.

“Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” the president told a White House news conference a day after the release of a new national intelligence estimate representing the consensus of all U.S. spy agencies.

On Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats said they hoped the report would have a cooling effect on the administration’s rhetoric, which they said was hyped and counterproductive. At a campaign debate in Iowa, seven Democratic presidential candidates stood in agreement that the United States should shift its focus with Iran to diplomatic engagement.

“They should have stopped the saber rattling, should never have started it,” said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Bush “should seize this opportunity.” But she also said it was clear that pressure on Iran has had an effect – a point disputed by rival Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

While U.S. intelligence about Iran has changed, Bush showed no inclination to alter course. Iran continues to produce enriched uranium that could be transferred to a secret weapons program, he said.

“So, I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program. And the reason why it’s a warning signal is that they could restart it,” the president said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, en route to Ethiopia for talks with African leaders, said it would be a “big mistake” to ease diplomatic pressure on Tehran.”At this moment, it doesn’t appear to have an active weaponization program,” she said. “That frankly is good news. But if it causes people to say, ‘Oh well then we don’t need to worry about what the Iranians are doing,’ I think we will have made a big mistake.”

Bush drew support from European allies who said the international community should not walk away from years of talks with an often defiant Tehran that is openly enriching uranium for uncertain ends. The report said Iran could still build a nuclear bomb by 2010-15.

“We must maintain pressure on Iran,” said French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani.

Bush also discussed the NIE in a 40-minute phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been playing an increasingly high-profile role in efforts to find a diplomatic solution, including making the first visit to Iran by a Russian leader in decades.

The U.S. acknowledgment about faulty intelligence about Iran recalled the erroneous U.S. conclusion that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, a belief that was a factor in Bush’s decision to invade Iraq.

“President Bush has lost all credibility with the American people,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. “We were misled on Iraq, now it’s Iran. We need to get to the truth so our foreign policy is not only tough but smart.”