From the AP:

President Bush has authorized U.S. forces in Iraq to take whatever actions are necessary to counter Iranian agents deemed a threat to American troops or the public at large, the White House said Friday.

“It makes sense that if somebody’s trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them,” Bush said. “It’s an obligation we all have … to protect our folks and achieve our goal.”

The aggressive new policy came in response to intelligence that Iran is supporting terrorists inside Iraq and is providing bombs — known as improvised explosive devices — and other equipment to anti-U.S. insurgents.

“The president and his national security team over the last several months have continued to receive information that Iranians were supplying IED equipment and or training that was being used to harm American soldiers,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

A couple of questions: 1 - how the Hell are US soldiers supposed to know who’s Iranian and who’s Iraqi? 2 - why would they need to get George Bush’s permission to shoot people who were trying to kill them? 3 - where is this information coming from? Iranians are building improvised bombs and giving them to Iraqis?

Why would they do that? And why should we trust anything that comes from this administration? Apparently, the AP still seems to think they’re on the level. According to the article, this “new policy” (apparently soldiers were NOT allowed to shoot at people who were trying to blow them up before) is a response to “intelligence that Iran is supporting terrorists inside Iraq.” This is not alleged intelligence, mind you — it is 100% certain, according to the ever-inquisitive AP, that Iran is supporting terrorism.

Watching this painfully slow build-up to war with Iran is like watching a dog trying to get to a bone on the other side of a fence. Even though he can’t climb under the fence, he keeps sticking his snout under anyway, hoping that maybe this time it will be different.