Lying? Out of the Loop? Both?

The release on Monday of a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the nuclear capabilities of Iran has - deservedly - spawned widespread accusations of both fear- and war-mongering on the part of President George W. Bush. Not only does this NIE directly contradict repeated efforts by the White House and rightwing mouthpieces like William Kristol to portray Iran as a looming nuclear threat, but a careful examination of the president's statements on the matter over time reveals a shift in rhetoric that implies he had knowledge of the document's conclusions far in advance of when he claims to have learned its contents.

While bloodthirsty shills like former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton are working feverishly to convince America that they somehow have access to other, better intelligence on Iran - and that the latest NIE is nothing short of a betrayal of both U.S. interests and the president - we are left with three stark options, none one of which is the least bit palatable:

1. President Bush is lying when he claimed in a press conference on Tuesday that "I was made aware of the NIE last week," and continued stoking the fires of public fear in full knowledge that the information he was using to make his case for another war of choice was completely bogus.
2. President Bush is completely out of the loop on threat intelligence developments within his own administration, and cannot be considered competent to defend the nation.
3. All of the above

Keith Olbermann has much, much more: