Bush Adopts Lower Standard for Iran Threat as Critics Question Credibility

Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush, his credibility under fire because of intelligence that Iran halted its nuclear weapons drive in 2003, adopted a new argument yesterday to justify tougher sanctions: Just knowing how to produce a bomb is dangerous.

Bush, speaking at a White House news conference, said a new report by U.S. intelligence agencies concluding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago changed nothing because Iran was still producing enriched uranium that could be used to make a bomb.

``I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program,'' the president said. ``And the reason why it's a warning signal is that they could restart it. And the thing that would make a restarted program effective and dangerous is the ability to enrich uranium.''

That argument resonated among U.S. allies in Europe, who are frustrated over what they regard as Iranian intransigence and may be skeptical about the accuracy of American intelligence. It drew no support from China and Russia, whose backing will be needed for any new United Nations sanctions, or among the president's domestic political adversaries.

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, said the president's anti-Iranian rhetoric in the face of the new intelligence ``undermines America's credibility around the world'' and erodes Bush's trustworthiness with the American people.