War Noises Watch

Steve Clemons gets NSC official Flynt Leverett on the record as saying the Bush administration is moving toward war with Iran:

"The deployment of a second carrier strike group to the theater -- confirmed in the speech -- is clearly directed against Iran. Since, in contrast to previous U.S. air campaigns in the Gulf, military planners developing contingencies for striking target sets in Iran must assume that the United States would not be able to use land-based air assets in theater (because of political opposition in the region), they are surely positing a force posture of at least two, and possible three carrier strike groups to provide the necessary numbers and variety of tactical aircraft.

"Similarly, the President’s announcement that additional Patriot batteries would go to the Gulf is clearly directed against Iran. We have previously deployed Patriot batteries to the region to deal with the Iraqi SCUD threat. Today, the only missile threat in the region for the Patriot to address is posed, at least theoretically, by Iran’s Shihab-3."

Yesterday, Clemons had this to say. It's based on speculation, but it gives you a sense of the mood in Washington. Senator Joseph Biden is warning the administration of a constitutional confrontation if they move against Iran or Syria.