Bush broke the cardinal rule: Don't screw with the CIA

...and the NIE estimate that says Iran has no nuclear program which neatly knee-capped the neo-con's campaign to conquer Iran leaving them enraged and sputtering? It's best understood as what Watergate conspirator Donald Segretti used to call a good old fashioned 'ratfucking'

Gin up intelligence and blame us when the lies are discovered? Humiliate us publicly, hell, expose and endanger one of our undercover agents destroying her career to publicly punish someone for pointing out your lies?

The CIA's been accused of killing Presidents for less.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. President," hissed the men in cloaks as they plunged a dagger into George Bush's back.

America's spooks finally had their revenge. After being forced by the White House in 2002-03 to concoct a farrago of lies about Iraq, and then take the blame for the ensuing fiasco there, the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies struck back this week.

U.S. intelligence chief Mike McConnell made public a bombshell National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report that concluded "with high confidence" Tehran had halted its rudimentary nuclear weapons program in 2003.

If restarted, Iran is unlikely to produce any weapons before 2015.

The new NIE is a devastating, humiliating blow to Bush, Dick Cheney and the neocons who have been fulminating for war against Iran. Only two months ago, Bush warned Americans that Iran's secret nuclear program threatened to ignite World War III.