How bad are things when the British and even the French are scolding us for being naive about Islamic terror? And the Israelis? They think we’ve lost it.

I’m referring, of course, to the recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report that was published recently declaring that new intelligence suggests Iran halted its nuclear program back in 2003.

This report is the latest and most compelling evidence that the U.S. intelligence services have become highly politicized. For most of the last 7 years, officials in the CIA have been selectively leaking information to organs like the New York Times with the intent of undermining the Bush Administration.

We now have intelligence services that see their role as not just providing accurate information to policy makers, but rather as influencing policy. 

It’s very long and sobering, but I encourage you to check out this post by Tom Gross about the NIE over at NRO’s “Media Blog”. And excerpt:

Today marks a week since the release of one of the most unintelligent – and dangerous – intelligence reports in history.

Already, as a result, the Chinese are backing away from whatever support they might have provided for tougher sanctions against Iran, while Russia has used the report as another reason to oppose them. Behind the scenes, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, now fearful that America will not be able to stop Iran going nuclear, have each decided in the last week to expand their own efforts to gain a nuclear capability.

It’s a dangerous time to attempt it, but it may be that our entire intelligence apparatus needs to be dismantled and depoliticized. Otherwise we may find ourselves depending on the Israelis and the French (the French!) for economic survival.