On 2012-01-04, at 5:31 PM, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
Interesting.
The problem with these sabre rattling stories, which have been going on for years, is that it's not possible to establish whether they are calculated leaks as part of a negotiating strategy to put further diplomatic pressure on Iran, or whether they are designed to prepare public opinion for war - in this case, a war provoked by an oil embargo and other tsanctions which prompts the Iranians to close the Straits of Hormuz and provides a pretext for an crippling assault on the country's nuclear facilities and other targets. I doubt that the Obama administration is gearing up for war or that the Iranians would allow themselves to be drawn into one, but I also remember the Gulf of Tonkin.