And interesting view on that comes from (my old alma mater) The Christian Science Monitor:
The US may be trying to achieve a difficult balance regarding Iran: pushing the Iranians hard enough so they will negotiate over their nuclear program, yet not so hard as to increase tensions in a part of the world that’s already aflame.
That’s the conclusion some experts draw from the recent US attempt to lay out evidence that officials say links Iran to attacks against US troops in Iraq.
Reporter Peter Grief’s must-read piece has this take on the highly touted — and in some circles highly derided — presentation of what was said to be proof or Iran’s machinations in Iraq’s still-potent “insurgent” movement:
For weeks the White House had promised that it would present proof that Tehran is meddling in Iraq by providing arms and training to Shiite militias. Yet when the presentation came, it was somewhat low-key. It took place in Baghdad, not Washington. It focused almost entirely on a type of dangerous roadside bomb that Iran is allegedly supplying to its Iraqi allies.
Washington “is not claiming this is decisive, and they’re not blaming the [Iraqi] insurgency on Iran,” says George Perkovich, a nuclear nonproliferation scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “This is part of a bigger diplomatic strategy, which is genuinely designed to try to put more pressure on Iran so it will want to negotiate, and will be more forthcoming when it does.”
Further down in the story, he writes this:
Instead, the US presentation of evidence perhaps should be seen as part of the larger effort by Washington to manage its relations with Tehran, especially in light of Iran’s apparent intention to press ahead with a uranium- enrichment program.
“This is all about pushing back on the Iranians, shining light on them in ways that can engender debate in Tehran,” says Perkovich.
Most likely, several things are going on at once. Washington is using a form of “gunboat diplomacy,” “p.r. offensive,” and other kinds of signals while probably drawing up intricate plans if the decision is made to go to war with Iran. Some believe the decision has already been made.
But the report does suggest diplomacy is not being ruled out (yet).
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.