President George W. Bush said of the 2007 NIE's public release, 'The NIE had a big impact—and not a good one.'
Notes on verification
Direct quote confirmed by Bush's memoir 'Decision Points' and corroborated by two independent secondary sources reproducing the exact passage. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- The 2007 NIE on Iran's Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities - CSI - CIA (seed:military_and_intelligence)
- http://www.david-morrison.org.uk/iran/iran-bush-on-nie.htm (corroboration)
- http://iran-times.com/bush-devotes-only-1-of-his-memoirs-to-iran/ (corroboration)