neal.mcnamara@heraldbulletin.com

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report With Brit Hume” Wednesday night, comparing Iran’s nuclear weapons program to that of Libya, which abandoned its program and allowed inspectors to tour nuclear facilities.

Pence was responding to the recently-released National Intelligence Estimate, which said that Iran abandoned seeking nuclear weapons four years ago.

Since 2003, Libya’s leader, Col. Moammar Qaddafi, took steps to go public with his country’s weapons programs, and has allowed outside inspectors to visit nuclear sites.

Pence, a Republican, appeared after 6 p.m. on the Hume show. His comments aired alongside those from Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Rep Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.

The NIE, called a “blockbuster” by some, revealed that Iran stopped attempting to create nuclear weapons four years ago. But President George Bush said Wednesday that Iran is still dangerous.

“Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon,” Bush told reporters at a Wednesday morning press conference.

Democrat presidential candidates, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, criticized Bush’s remarks Tuesday during a radio debate on Iowa Public Radio.

The Associated Press contributed information to this report.