Once again we are offered an example of just how far Contemporary Conservatism has fallen, and continues to fall. A stated core precept of Conservatism is personal responsibility, yet few, if any current politicians who define themselves as 'conservative' have shown any predilection to accepting responsibility for their actions, which turned out badly.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee acknowledged Sunday that mixed messages surround Iran's nuclear capabilities and that "we really don't know" how close Tehran is to developing a nuclear weapon.

"It all points out the fact we need to do much better in rebuilding our intelligence community, reshaping it, transforming it, making sure that we give public policy, that we give policymakers the information that they need so that we can make better decisions," Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., told "Fox News Sunday."

Associated Press, "Rep. Says Iran's Nuke Capability Unknown", Houston chronicle, April 23, 2006

Well Petey, rebuilding the intelligence committee begins at home. Why not look into the mirror and discover the intelligence failure staring at you? Last July, Hoekstra was identified as going with Curt Weldon to Paris, France for a secret meeting with an agent of Manucher Ghorbanifar in violation of State Department protocols.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Peter Hoekstra and Rep. Curt Weldon met secretly in Europe last week with an Iranian exile who CIA officials charge has passed worthless or bogus intelligence to the United States, current and former U.S. government officials said.

The Paris meeting appears to be the latest in a string of incidents in which players outside the intelligence community try to affect American foreign policy by highlighting threats that the CIA and other agencies find dubious.

In some ways, it echoes the claims by Iraqi exiles that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, claims proven to be false after the U.S.-led invasion.

Weldon, R-Pa., claims in a new book that the Iranian exile, whom he calls "Ali," told him of dramatic Iranian-sponsored terrorist plots against the United States.

But the CIA says that it has wasted hundreds of hours checking the claims of Ali - whose real name is Fereidoun Mahdavi - and that they are a mix of fabrications and embellishments of press reports, according to a letter from the CIA to Weldon.

Warren P. Strobel, "Lawmakers met with Iranian exile scrutinized over intelligence", Knight Ridder Newpapers, July 20, 2005

Any clown that would do this is a verified intelligence liability.