NOTE TO STUDENTS:  This is a long article, especially for a Friday!  But well worth understanding.  Nuclear weapons in the hands of the unstable government of Iran will affect our national security.  Knowing where we stand will help you to vote for the political candidates who will take the kind of action you support. 

1.  a) Who are Michael Hayden and Michael McConnell?
b)  What are they now saying about the December 2007 NIE report that concluded that Iran had stopped work on its nuclear weapons program in 2003?

2.  a) What question did Mr. Hayden ask about Iran's nuclear program?
b) What regret did Mr. McConnell have about the report? (see paragraph 5)

3.  a) On what part of the NIE did most of the news coverage focus?
b)  How do Mr. McConnell and Mr. Hayden explain this part of the report?
c)  What are the two men now emphasizing about Iran's nuclear program?
d)  What do you think of Mr. McConnell and Mr. Haydens' explanation and new emphasis?

4.  a) What are the three key elements of a nuclear weapons program? (see paragraph 11)
b)  How did the media misinterpret the NIE when reporting "Iran stops nuclear program," according to Mr. Hayden?
c)  The declassified NIE key judgments made no mention of delivery systems and focused extensively on the halted program. Do you think that the media should have known this? Explain your answer.

5.  What does intelligence expert Steven Aftergood say about Mr. Hayden and Mr. McConnells' shift in tone?

6.  a) For what reasons did conservative national security analysts condemn the NIE report on Iran? (see paragraph 18)
b)  How did the NIE report hurt the U.S., according to critics?

7.  Mr. McConnell said "If I had had the foresight to know I was going to be forced to do unclassified key judgments...I would have caused the key judgments to be very clear about what was stopped and what continued. I'll take responsibility. That's an error in judgment on my part. I wasn't clairvoyant or smart."  Mr. McConnell also said that Iran could have restarted work on a nuclear warhead without U.S. intelligence agencies being aware of it: "If Iran's nuclear weapons design program ... has already been reactivated or will be reactivated, it will be a closely guarded state secret" he testified.
Based on what you know about Iran's leaders, and the information from this article, do you think that Iran is working on developing nuclear weapons?  Explain your answer.