Yesterday's ABC News Blotter carried an item that began:

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.

Well, it isn't secret any longer. This may be another in a long line of instances where CIA officials have tried to foil American foreign policy by leaking secrets to the news media. Then again, it might not be. Something about this leak--I can't articulate what--makes me think it may have been intentional on the part of the administration, to send some sort of signal to Iran, or perhaps to Iranian dissidents. As far as I've seen in this morning's papers, the administration hasn't denounced the leak.

Either way, the campaign as described by ABC sounds like a good one--the kind of thing I'd have hoped we've been doing for quite a while.

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