The President did seem to make one thing clear, in his clearly uneasy address to the nation last night. He's not messing around with Iran.

Some reports read his remarks as grave...

My sources in the Pentagon say this is what they think it really means:

1. He is putting external military pressure on Iran. Note that we will soon have three carrier task forces in the region. Admiral Fallon, the new CENTCOM commander, is known for his use of naval forces to sway geopolitical pressure. Also, watch for overflights by more U.S. aircraft from places like Diego Garcia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Some are drones looking at Iranian military and nuclear positions. Many subtle activities are underway and Iran is very much aware otherwise it wouldn't have staged three major military maneuvers in 2006 or continued to shake its arms rattle at the U.S.

 

2. The U.S. is aggressively going after Iranians inside Iraq. We have bombed numerous sites along the Iraq-Iran border, e.g., Iranian consulate in Irbil. We have captured al Qods (Iranian Revolutionary Guards) et al inside Iraq and exposed them to media light and used their information for follow-up action. No longer will the Iranians have freedom to maneuver in that country. We are building a case.

 

3. SEC. STATE Rice will be in the Gulf this weekend to garner diplomatic pressure on Iran. There will be new economic pressures as well.

 

4. I expect more clandestine actions to assist Iranian resistance groups as well.

 

Is it working? Perhaps. Oil prices have dropped 11% in two weeks. It's not just because warm weather has kept northern hemisphere consumption down. No, the markets understand that Iran will exercise more wisdom regarding its oil policy and the flow from Gulf states will continue.