Buy One Get One Free

According to this morning's NYT, the US military is blaming the deaths of at least five US soldiers on Iranian forces acting in Iraq. This claim has been around for awhile an the White House has long maintained -- without much proof -- that Iran is arming Shiite militias in Iraq. (Interestingly, some time ago Gen Peter Pace stated there was no evidence of Iranian influence in Iraq. He was later retired.) It appears now, the US has wratcheted up the rhetoric a notch. If true, the claim that Iran is taking action against our servicemen and women in Iraq may be considered an act of war. Accordingly, our government may be trying to lay the groundwork for a strike against Iran.

It would, of course, be quite tragic if our failed policy in Iraq bought us a war in not only in that country, but in Iran as well. One recalls our President being warned by the Vatican about the "unforseen consequences" of war in Iraq.

Furthermore, the piece of kabuki theater the Administration is acting out here is a little hard to believe. Did we really think that after a decade long war with Iraq, that Iran would just stand on the sidelines after Saddam was deposed? Isn't it unrealistic to assume that Tehran would simply ignore an opportunity to vastly expand its influence in the Middle East by seeking to exert control over a Iraq? Are we really to believe that the White House is "shocked, shocked I say" about this?