Mere Rhetoric: Reuters Publishes State Department Leak: US Attack On Iran Would Be All-Out War

Tough to know who's behind the leaks and why. But here you go:

U.S. contingency planning for military action against Iran's nuclear program goes beyond limited strikes and would effectively unleash a war against the country, a former U.S. intelligence analyst said on Friday. "I've seen some of the planning ... You're not talking about a surgical strike," said Wayne White, who was a top Middle East analyst for the State Department's bureau of intelligence and research until March 2005. "You're talking about a war against Iran" that likely would destabilize the Middle East for years, White told the Middle East Policy Council, a Washington think tank.

The "destabilize the Middle East for years" part makes it sound like your typical, anti-Administration State Department leak (hey, that would be a first!) But this could also be an Administration leak to turn up the pressure on Iran. Either way, it's nonsense - the US simply does not have the boots to launch a full scale war against Iran.

Bonus: the bottom of the article discusses the centrality of oil - and of oil prices - to the rudimentary Iranian economy. If Saudi Arabia really does what they've been threatening - amp up production and crash oil prices - then things could get quite interesting indeed.

Previously: Turns Out, Iran Won't Stop Developing The Nukes That They Really, Really Want, Iran Sanctions Blah Blah Blah, OneJerusalem.org Conference Call with Senator Rick Santorum

About

Omri Ceren is a PhD student studying Rhetoric at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. He lives in downtown Los Angeles.
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