Academic

GEE, DO YOU THINK? ?Iranian aircraft attacked three villages inside Iraq over the weekend. The airs?

By Glenn Reynolds

GEE, DO YOU THINK? “Iranian aircraft attacked three villages inside Iraq over the weekend. The airstrikes ? Iran?s first on Iraqi soil since the U.S. invasion ? could complicate the Obama administration?s efforts to normalize relations with Tehran.”

Funny this hasn’t gotten more attention. But maybe the press is taking its cue from this: “In February, American fighter jets shot down an Iranian drone flying over Iraq. Such an incursion would?ve likely provoked an angry response from the previous administration. But the reaction to the drone incident was muted ? perhaps in the interest of keeping the dialogue with Tehran going.”

UPDATE: Reader Fred LaSor thinks the causation works the other way: “My reading is that our ‘muted’ reaction after the drone shootdown was a consideration when the Iranians contemplated their weekend airstrikes inside Iraq. I take this action on their part to be more than a random act — it is another probe to see if Obama will react. Far from keeping dialogue going, our muted response will only encourage Iran to continue its belligerence. Not a good sign.”

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on May 04, 2009 (boomark / email).