Not So Secret Iranian Summer Offensive

You could see the writing on the wall well before the paper decided to publish a story claiming that Iran had a secret plan to go on an offensive over the summer in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East to accelerate the US departure from Iraq and undermine US strategic interests.

Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say.

"Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq and it's a very dangerous course for them to be following. They are already committing daily acts of war against US and British forces," a senior US official in Baghdad warned. "They [Iran] are behind a lot of high-profile attacks meant to undermine US will and British will, such as the rocket attacks on Basra palace and the Green Zone [in Baghdad]. The attacks are directed by the Revolutionary Guard who are connected right to the top [of the Iranian government]."

This isn't so much a secret as a very well educated observation.

Iran knows that support in the US for the Iraq experiment is fading and they may feel that this summer will be ripe for Iran to take advantage of the situation further. They are much further along in their enrichment activities and Hizbullah has regrouped and rearmed after its conflict last summer with Israel and Lebanon remains splintered. With attentions diverted to each new hotspot in the region, Iran can press home the advantage and seize the opportunity in Iraq, where the Iraqi government is fractured and has yet to resolve key issues, including oil wealth sharing, among others.