It looks like overt military action is off the table - for now:

The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert “black” operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a “nonlethal presidential finding” that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran’s currency and international financial transactions.

People are blasting ABC News for releasing this story but there isn’t really anything new here. Well, at least I’d like to assume that there isn’t. If the administration is just now getting around to this then the real story here is one of extreme negligence. This kind of activity should have commenced in the late 70s. There are plenty of signs that it’s already occurring so I don’t expect anyone, especially the Iranians, to be surprised by this report.

If this does signal a new direction, or level of intensity, for us then I can’t help but think that it’s anything but another milestone on the march towards a shooting war. In fact, there is the very real possibility that our covert action will drive Iran towards a critical miscalculation. If that’s what we’re aiming for then the public release of this information may be intentional or irrelevant. It just serves to ratchet up the pressure while buying the administration a little more time.

Bloggers React:
Air Force Pundit
I sure hope this is accurate, but doubt it..

Capitol Cloak
The ABC Blotter report posted last night exceeded the New York Times piece on NSA Domestic Surveillance in its audacity, poor timing, and potential consequences for global security. It is quite clear from the Blotter report that ABC has no sense of self-preservation, and is far more concerned about breaking an exclusive story than it is about Iran’s mullahs holding the threat of nuclear bombs over Israel and America. It is impossible to overstate this fact: If we are hold Congressional hearings about firing U.S. Attorneys and leaking names of “covert” CIA employees who were never covert (Valerie Plame), then heads should roll and charges filed over the “sensitive” (i.e. Top Secret/SCI) information revealed to and reported by ABC.

Shadow of the Hegemon
Black ops can only conceivably work when they’re kept in complete secrecy. Iran is going to go absolutely nuts over this, and will almost certainly take steps to ensure that “destabilization” is unlikely at best. The entire country will know that the CIA intends to plunge Iran into chaos, ensuring that the current regime has more power and more stability than it did before, so the only way the CIA can avoid making things worse is by making damned sure that Iran knows that they’re doing nothing of the kind. Channels are probably already buzzing.

Wheat & Weeds
ABC’s Brian Ross reveals US “covert” action in Iran. How come these guys never reveal secret enemy black-op plans against us?

Hot Air
It’s not a secret anymore. Some righty media outlet must have already linked it, too, because Brian Ross and company are getting reamed in the comments over there for revealing it.

Michael P.F. van der Galiën
Force should, if necessary, be used, but, for now, it’s not necessary. If covert operations can achieve what we in the West want to achieve, namely to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, great.

Captain’s Quarters
Someone in the CIA or in the larger “intelligence community” can’t keep their mouths shut. Thanks to them, we may wind up with no other option against Iranian nuclear ambitions except the military strike.

Daniel W. Drezner
The CIA has a mixed track record at best when it comes to peaceful regime change. And the agency’s particularly baleful history in Iran means the deck is already stacked against ay success.

The Moderate Voice
Was this information leaked with or without the Administration’s approval? We won’t know until the Administration reacts (or doesn’t react) to the disclosure.

Wizbang!
Does Brian Ross at The Blotter have no idea what the word “covert” means, or was this a deliberate leak from the government to put pressure on Iran?

Outside the Beltway
There’s not much meat to the alleged plan laid out in the piece, so I’m less concerned than Ed Morrissey or AllahPundit that these revelations necessarily derail it. After all, the working assumption has long been that we’ve got covert ops going on in Iran for both intelligence collection and counter-regime purposes. Indeed, it’s quite possible that these “leaks” are part of an authorized psychological warfare campaign aimed at bolstering diplomatic efforts and/or strengthening the resolve of anti-regime players in Iran.

Mark My Words
As for the unABC idiots and whoever leaked, it’s pretty clear they would prefer no serious action against Iran, because that e word might come up again. So, is it that they really want Iran, with it’s current regime, to have nuclear weapons? Which is it, they’re that stupid, or so self-centered their blinded by their own conceits, or the near equivalent of traitors, or all of the above?

Iowa Voice
You know, there was a time in America where if something was classified, the media wouldn’t report it. If American lives were in danger, they’d back off from the story, lest someone get killed. Not any longer. In the interest of “non-partisan” reporting (riiiight), and “not taking sides” (again…riiiiight), they will expose anything at all. Especially if they can use it against Bush.

Shining Light in Dark Corners
I think we are seeing the predicted hard play to provoke Iran into defending it’s honor with two major moves. Special Ops have been in Iran since at least late 2004. So the most recent leak is very likely disinformation designed to provoke Iran into acting when the US has the strongest hand available, four carrier battle groups in the Gulf.

PoliBlog
First, this news is about as shocking as a headline that states: “Jerry Sloan Authorizes New Plan to Slow Tim Duncan for Game 3″—of course the administration has covert processes in place to try and destabilize Iran. Could anyone has listened to the administration’s rhetoric and watched its policies and assume that there are no such plans in place? Further, Iran is the US’s major opponent in the region. As such, I would expect that there would be CIA operations going on there.

Slapstick Politics
I don’t understand how someone at the CIA can do this? We’ve gotten used to the MSM doing this, but to hold a clearance for the CIA you must take annual polygraphs as well as the standard in depth background checks every few years, plus take an oath….obviously some people at the CIA believe politics and hurting the administration is more important than keeping our country’s secret plans secret.

Right Side of the Rainbow
Does the hobbling of covert action — “[c]overt actions that appear on national television tend to lose the element of surprise, after all” — make military action against Iran more likely?

Macsmind
So where is Chuck Schumer now? So ‘protective’ of Valerie Plame, will he now show the same outrage at the exposure of a covert operation that put our agency men and women in such danger?

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