The mainstream media and partisan blogs are all over the supposed scoop from Seymour Hersh's imminent Iran invasion. If I was a gambling man, which I occasionally am, I'd bet about $150 that this is what the administration is called a "controlled leak." That is, somebody at the Pentagon WANTED to get this news out, regardless of whether it's true or not.
Are plans to invade Iran or undermine the fundamentalist theocracy that runs it around? You bet, just as there are plans to do the same to North Korea, Cuba, Somalia, France and a slew of other nations, regardless of whom is president. You need to have these plans ready to go. When we were attacked on 9/11, there was undoubtedly a finished plan to attack Afghanistan that just needed to be updated and enacted.
So why was it leaked? Let's step back for a minute and look at Iran. A fundamentalist theocracy, perhaps the most rigid in the Middle East, that makes no bones about supporting terrorism. Undoubtedly trying to undermine the situation in Iraq, either through monetary support or arms smuggling, likely to militias. It's run by a group of mullahs who hate not just the U.S. but also democracy, and have repeatedly shot down popular votes, democratic overtures and jailed pro-democracy dissidents. And a nation with humongous reserves of oil, but who claims to be pursuing nuclear technology for "peaceful and energy purposes." If you believe that last line, would you like to buy this bridge, sir?
The memo was just that -- a shot across Iran's bow, reminding its government that we're not fooled by their lies about nuclear energy. Any effort to help the fledgling democratic movement in Iran, whose people have suffered for years and who wildly hate their rulers, are welcome. Here's hoping this controlled leak and this month's Iraqi elections do just that.
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