Gates Plays the Iran Card

In Bahrain today ostensibly to tell the Al Khalifa to enact real political reform, SecDef Gates seems to have done the unexpected -- er, I mean, the expected -- and played the Iran card. "[T]here is clear evidence that as the [political reform] process is protracted, particularly in Bahrain, the Iranians are looking for ways to exploit it and create problems," he said.

Not reported was his response to a question by a local reporter, who asked, "Mr. Gates, if the U.S. is so worried about Iranian influence in the Gulf, why wasn't it worried when it took out Iran's biggest regional competitor in the Middle East (Iraq) and it's biggest regional competitor in Central Asia (Afghanistan)?"

Gates replied, "Iran. Iran! IRAN!!!1"

Need he say more?