via Lobe Log

Some of you may have read the story I wrote earlier this week for IPS entitled “Anti-Iran Hawks Maintain P.R. Offensive” in which I cited David Rothkopf’s totally bizarre story posted on foreignpolicy.com about a possible joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran’s enrichment sites that would potentially “transform” the entire Middle East in a matter of just “a couple of hours”. It was pretty clear that Rothkopf, whose writing I generally genuinely enjoy, had been taken for some kind of ride onto Planet Neo-Con. As I noted in the article, a lot of the speculation settled on Israeli Amb. Michael Oren as the likely source whom Rothkopf described as “close to the [supposed U.S.-Israeli] discussions” about such an operation. Presumably, the article was not subjected to a great deal of editorial scrutiny both because of Rothkopf’s reputation as a serious insider and because of the fact that he is foreignpolicy.com’s CEO.

Now, Phil Weiss of the Mondoweiss.com blog has dug deeper into the story, as has the Israeli press, to come up with some very interesting background to the story …and its diplomatic repercussions. Check it out here.