Ratcheting up once again on Iran

Joint Chiefs Chair Adm. Mike Mullen opened up a new round of highlighting Iran's role in Iraq yesterday, (NYTimes, WaPo) including very direct statements that the US has considered military action against Iran.

The nation's top military officer said yesterday that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" as one of several options against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq.....

"It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability," he said at a Pentagon news conference.

If that were not enough, the NYTimes has top administration officials very intentionally, trying to get this message out there,

The administration has, in fact, discussed whether to attack training camps, safe houses and weapons storehouses inside Iran that intelligence reports say are being used by the Quds Force to train fighters, according to two senior administration officials.

So, we seem to have another concerted effort to threaten Iran.

With Fallon gone, and Petraeus moving up.....