Reuters reports: While President Barack Obama and top aides have been united this week in grave warnings over an alleged Iranian assassination plot, some U.S. government officials are privately expressing disquiet that the outlandish-sounding plan has triggered U.S. calls for stiff new action against Iran.
These officials, while not disputing many facts of the case, say that if anything, the scheme reveals weaknesses in Iran’s security agencies, and the increasingly fractured state of Iran’s government as it faces intense international pressure.
They also questioned the wisdom of the White House strategy in using the affair to rapidly push for tougher sanctions on Tehran, increasing regional tensions.
“A lot of people basically feel really suspicious about this,” one official said, questioning the White House’s motivation “in ratcheting this thing up so quickly.”
Like others, this official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
A second U.S. official said he shared those concerns, and questioned whether new sanctions, especially unilateral U.S. ones, would have much more than a cosmetic effect on the already heavily sanctioned country.
The consensus view in the administration is that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, probably knew of the alleged plot to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington, while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not.
But the skeptical officials said there is no hard evidence Khamanei knew or approved of the plan.
Quid pro quo! The “O” carrying water for Israeli & perhaps Saudi interests as well as the neo’s in the congress. This allows the release of funds for “O”s reelection slush fund. The only bright spot in all this, is the fact that when he’s out of office, then he’ll be relegated to staying put in the U.S.A. as a prisoner, just as Bush/Cheney and their cohorts, fearing arrest and being brought before the ICC. Of course, his replacement just might either prosecute him here at home, or else turn him over to said court. After all, he became the first by choice, so it stands to reason that he could become the first to be turned over, again setting a precedent.