Opinion (William M. Arkin): Plans, But No Intention for War With Iran

Earlier this week, the BBC carried a report that said it had learned "U.S. contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure."

The BBC also said "diplomatic sources" told the news agency that "senior officials at Central Command in Florida have already selected their target sets inside Iran." An attack would be triggered either by confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon; or if a "high-casualty" attack on U.S. forces in Iraq was traced back to Tehran.

The BBC report has predictably ignited an Internet firestorm, certainly understandable given the supposedly impeccable news source, the Bush campaign ever since the State of the Union speech to focus on Iran and Tehran's continued intransigence in the face of international pressure.

Read the rest at the Washington Post