The war drums are beating

Laura Rosen at Washington Monthly picks up on the fact that there have been a flury of Iran-bashing "news" stories coming out of the government in the two days since the Iranians responded more or less negatively to the UN demand they cease nuclear activities.

Not mentioned in her piece is today's piece in the NY Times saying that many in the GOP believe the CIA is underplaying the threat from Iran. As everyone else in the blogosphere has pointed out, this is exactly what these same people were saying about Iraq, before the war there.

Laura asks, "Is the timing of these statements and reports coincidental? Is it coordinated? And if so, by whom?"

I opt for coordinated, but as Atrios points out, "You don't roll out a new product until after Labor Day."