Pssst: US Actually Admits It's At War With Iran!

The US barely mentions Syria.
Obama denies we are at war with Libya--whom we are bombing

But the US is at war with Iran--whom we are not bombing:

The United States is engaged in a deadly but seldom mentioned proxy war with Iran. In a rare act of candor, two senior Obama administration defense officials have addressed the open secret of Iran’s active support for insurgent groups fighting U.S. troops overseas.

New Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says this war is in response to the increasing violence of Iran's Shiite militia groups and their military support for Iraqi extremists.

I've posted before about John Mearsheimer, who during Yearly Kos 2007 dismissed the killing of American soldiers by Iran as "a small percentage" and the result of "disingenuous arguments" by the Bush administration--it comes at the start of the video:



I wonder what he'll say now--has the percentage of US soldiers risen enough to meet his criteria? Of course, Mearsheimer may view a proxy war differently.

In any case, the history of Iran's responsibility for US deaths in combat is not new--it has been going on for decades:

Iranian support for insurgencies is rarely raised so publicly at such high levels. Iran has been directly or indirectly responsible for more U.S. combat deaths than any other country since the end of the Vietnam War. For years, Iran has supplied arms and other support to insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although Obama started his term with outreach to Iran, tensions have increased considerably.

Since then, relations have grown steadily worse because of Iran’s nuclear program and dismal human rights record. With U.S. forces exiting the region, it would be strategically sound to signal the Islamic republic that America won’t tolerate continued support for insurgent groups that threaten our allies and interests. As Mr. Panetta said, it’s about time the United States takes this issue head-on.

It is unlikely Iran will pay much attention unless it sees that the US is serious.
Let's hope the Obama administration willing to do what is necessary to do that.

Technorati Tag: Iran and Obama.