Forget about fixing the intelligence, we'll just ignore it

It's very interesting that the long-delayed National Intelligence Estimate (N.I.E.), which was delivered to Bush yesterday, downplays the importance of Iran in Iraq's problems. As the Washington Post put it:

The document emphasizes that although al-Qaeda activities in Iraq remain a problem, they have been surpassed by Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence as the primary source of conflict and the most immediate threat to U.S. goals. Iran, which the administration has charged with supplying and directing Iraqi extremists, is mentioned but is not a focus.

Now, why do you suppose that is? Could it be because Iran is not a major contributor to the problem? Never fear, we'll go to war with them anyway.