Talks of an Iran strike are back

Everytime the Bush admin tries to push for new political pressure on Iran, the consistently raise the specter of attacks on Iran through the backchannel. I never know how much of these are serious, and how much are posturing, but here we are again.

Six months ago, after American intelligence agencies declared that Iran had shelved its nuclear-weapons program, the chances of a U.S. or Israeli military strike on Iran before President Bush left office seemed remote.

Now, thanks to persistent pressure from Israeli hawks and newly stated concerns by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the idea of a targeted strike meant to cripple Iran's nuclear program is getting a new hearing.

As Bush travels across Europe to gain support for possible new sanctions against Iran, Israeli leaders have been working to lay the psychological foundation for a possible military strike if diplomacy falters.

In public threats and private briefings with American decision-makers, Israeli officials have been making the case that a military strike may be the only way to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions.

On the other hand, you do have to take this somewhat seriously because there are high figures in this administration who do want to attack Iran before their time is up. I don't know.