A more likely story

The other day I expressed a faint hope that the recent release of the NIE, downgrading hype of Iran's supposed nuclear weapons program, might signal that lil'Bush was finally standing up to Uncle Dick Cheney on a matter of substance. The more likely explanation is that offered by Dr. Steven Jonas over at BuzzFlash:

So what's really going on here? As reported on BuzzFlash, Seymour Hersh believes the BushCheney Regime has been sitting on this intel for a year. So why does it come out now, and indeed why at all? In part, it's because the military absolutely does not want another war on its hands, especially one it cannot win. But it goes further than that. Since the release of the Iraq Study Group Report a year ago, it has been apparent there is a battle between Cheney and Jim Baker, each representing a major branch of the U.S. power elite. The Cheney wing clearly wants Permanent War abroad, among other things to support the imposition of fascism at home. The Baker wing clearly doesn't want either. His ISG Report pointed the way out of the Iraq mess, with a major emphasis on diplomacy, not any kind of "surge." BushCheney went the other way because their objectives are entirely different. This new shot across the BushCheney bow clearly has more power behind it, because it comes primarily from the Pentagon. Gates is a Baker man, there are lots of generals and admirals over there, and nine of the 16 intelligence agencies that sign off on the NIEs are in the Pentagon.
This report is not the product of some rogue, unhappy mid-level bureaucrats. Cheney and his power elite faction ain't done yet, but he is going to have to circle the wagons closer and deal with the fact that the military have clearly told both him and Bush that they ain't going to war in Iran.

Thus we see more of a smackdown of lil'Bush and Uncle Dick Cheney, by Jim Baker and other elder Bush cronies, and less of a real recognition on lil'Bush's part that Cheney could be wrong. Either way, I sure ain't going to relax until a new Democratic President is inaugurated in January, 2009.