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Agence France-Presse
Sunday 19 November 2006
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Washington - A classifed draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear
weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter has said.
Seymour Hersh, writing in an article for the November 27 issue of the magazine The New Yorker released in advance,
reported on whether the administration of Republican President George W. Bush was more, or less, inclined to attack Iran
after Democrats won control of Congress last week.
A month before the November 7 legislative elections, Hersh wrote, Vice President Dick Cheney attended a
national-security discussion that touched on the impact of Democratic victory in both chambers on Iran policy.
"If the Democrats won on November 7th, the vice president said, that victory would not stop the administration from
pursuing a military option with Iran," Hersh wrote, citing a source familiar with the discussion.
Cheney said the White House would circumvent any legislative restrictions "and thus stop Congress from getting in its
way," he said.
The Democratic victory unleashed a surge of calls for the Bush administration to begin direct talks with Iran.
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