JOHN BOLTON on the N.I.E.: “Rarely has a document from the supposedly hidden world of intelligence had such an impact as the National Intelligence Estimate released this week. Rarely has an administration been so unprepared for such an event. And rarely have vehement critics of the ‘intelligence community’ on issues such as Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction reversed themselves so quickly. . . . That such a flawed product could emerge after a drawn-out bureaucratic struggle is extremely troubling.”

UPDATE: Related thoughts here: “