NeoConservatives - Still a foot hold in the Bush administration

In an article by Juan Cole, he states that "getting Iran is an obsession of the Neoconservatives at the American Enterprise Institute and their plants inside the administration, such as Iran-Contra felon Elliot Abrams in the National Security Council(How does a felon pardoned by the President he committed the crime for get to be a member of the National Security Council?) and David Wurmser (a scholar with strong ties to a number of neoconservative policy institutes) and John Hannah(played a major role in corralling intelligence that the Bush administration used to justify its 2003 invasion of Iraq) on Cheney's national security council. Neoconservative Condaleeza Rice is now being dubbed a realist since rejecting the case compiled against Iran. Gates and Rice confirmed that they were concerned about possible inaccuracies.
It appears there is descension in the Neoconservative rank and file in the Bush administration.