Seymour Hersh, in an article entitled 'Last
Stand' posted today in The New Yorker, claims that Pentagon sources believe
the U.S. cannot destroy Iran's nuclear program:

Inside the Pentagon, senior commanders have increasingly challenged the President’s
plans, according to active-duty and retired officers and officials. The generals
and admirals have told the Administration that the bombing campaign will probably
not succeed in destroying Iran’s nuclear program. They have also warned that
an attack could lead to serious economic, political, and military consequences
for the United States.

A crucial issue in the military’s dissent, the officers said, is the fact
that American and European intelligence agencies have not found specific
evidence of clandestine activities or hidden facilities; the war planners
are not sure what to hit. “The target array in Iran is huge, but it’s
amorphous,” a high-ranking general told me. “The question we face
is, When does innocent infrastructure evolve into something nefarious?”
The high-ranking general added that the military’s experience in Iraq,
where intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was deeply flawed, has affected
its approach to Iran. “We built this big monster with Iraq, and there was
nothing there. This is son of Iraq,” he said. [emphasis added].

This screed by the great wizard Seymour Hersh, with his magical anonymous sources
that for some reason never want to talk to anyone else, is completely contradicted
by what we know about the Iranian nuclear program. The Iranians, far from denying
that they are enriching uranium, have proudly announced that fact. Inspection
teams from the IAEA have had extensive looks at the Iranian nuclear program,
and have reported their findings - the Iranian nuclear program is not some phantom
that might not actually exist. The IAEA has even reported finding trace amounts
of highly enriched
uranium in Iran. This just doesn't happen on its own. And the IAEA knows
exactly where
this enrichment is taking place.

Hersh seems to be trying to forge a new meme here: that no WMDs in Iraq
turned up (untrue) and likewise no WMDs will turn up in Iran, so it is
folly to contemplate an attack. As enticing a line of logic this is for
the anti-war types, the obvious weight of evidence against it coupled with Hersh's
lack of credibility will likely prevent even this idea from taking flight.