Seymour Hersh from The New Yorker has reported that the U.S. is conducting secret operations in Iran. They are scouting for potential military and nuclear facilities; very necessary information for a future bombing run.

The story makes extensive use of anonymous quotes, and as a journalist, that doesn’t bode too well with me. Like I said, I have no doubt that the U.S. is conducting covert operations, but anonymous quotes make me feel very skeptical. Let’s not forget about Jason Blair.

Hersh quotes one government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon as saying, “The civilians in the Pentagon want to go into Iran and destroy as much of the military infrastructure as possible.”

One former high-level intelligence official told The New Yorker, “This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush administration is looking at this as a huge war zone. Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign.”

I know these people would be in trouble if they were actually named, but those are some serious quotes that need some serious backing up if he’s called on it.

On another note: Fantastic news! It looks like Iran really is the next target. I’ve already got a post on this where you can see some of my thoughts on how this will have to play out.