CBS News reported Tuesday that the Pentagon has ordered new options to be drawn up for attacking Iran and that the State Department has begun drafting an ultimatum that would tell Iran to stop meddling in Iraq or else….
[US Secretary of Defense Robert] Gates flatly denied on Tuesday that the Pentagon was preparing for military strikes against Iran….
US military leaders have taken a harder tone on the threat Iran poses in recent weeks amid spiking US casualties in clashes with Shiite militias that the United States charges is backed by Iran.
What is troubling about Iran’s alleged meddling in Iraq is that it is likely done with the intent of either destabilizing the state or removing the US from the region. Both Iraq and Iran have Shi’a Muslim majorities (a rarity for the Middle East). Al-Qaeda Iraq (AQI, the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda), made up of Sunni Muslims, has reportedly been largely defeated in Iraq. Iran is not messing with Iraq for religious differences—rather, the aim is political: to weaken US influence in the region and on their door step. (Iran & Iraq are neighbors.)