Preparations for attack on Iran at advanced stage

From today's Guardian:

US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington.

The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. But the sources said that if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office.

Neo-conservatives, particularly at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, are urging Mr Bush to open a new front against Iran. So too is the vice-president, Dick Cheney. The state department and the Pentagon are opposed, as are Democratic congressmen and the overwhelming majority of Republicans. The sources said Mr Bush had not yet made a decision. The Bush administration insists the military build-up is not offensive but aimed at containing Iran and forcing it to make diplomatic concessions. The aim is to persuade Tehran to curb its suspect nuclear weapons programme and abandon ambitions for regional expansion

As to timing, I hear the Spring is the optimal time of the year to do it (I guess due to weather conditions), so it's probably either this Spring or next. I suppose Spring 2008 might be designed to do the Thuglicans' a benefit in the elections. I'm not sure it will work, but they probably need to gear up the anti-Iran trash talk to a higher level than they have so far to get the public to buy into another war in the Middle East.