Editorial: Just the facts on Iran

Friday, Sept. 15, 2006 | 7:32 a.m.

The United States has every reason to be on guard against Iran, as its leadership supports the insurgency and secular violence in Iraq, supports terrorism and warfare against our close ally Israel and is apparently aiming to become a nuclear power. But as the U.S. builds a case against Iran, it should be painstakingly careful to avoid the type of falsehoods and distortions that led to the tragically mistaken invasion of Iraq.

We say this because the House Intelligence Committee last month hurriedly released a report containing allegations about Iran's nuclear capabilities. The report was released by the committee's Republican members before it was reviewed by the full committee.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency protested the 29-page report, contending that it contained five major errors. For example, the agency said, the report claimed that Iran is producing weapons-grade plutonium, when in fact the plutonium that is being enriched is nowhere near that level.

The newspaper quoted a Washington-based nuclear weapons expert, who said, "This is like prewar Iraq all over again. You have an Iranian nuclear threat that is spun up, using bad information that's cherry-picked and a report that trashes the inspectors."

In the run-up to the Iraq war, inspectors for the IAEA noted repeatedly that they had found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction anywhere in the country, but the Bush administration dismissed their findings in its rush to topple Saddam Hussein.

Of necessity, Iran's nuclear program needs to be closely monitored. But all ensuing reports need to be accurate, as our experience in Iraq has painfully demonstrated.