Bush Armageddon

Steve Clemons raises the question, "Did the President Declare "Secret War" Against Syria and Iran?" He quotes the relevant portion of Bush's speech, and points to the Iranian Consulate in Arbil, Iraq, which was raided last night, to support speculation. Steve also has a portion of a transcript from today's Senate Foreign Relations Committe hearings, quoting exchanges by Biden and Hagel with a distinctly evasive Condoleeza Rice. update: Josh Marshall highlights a rather noteworthy portion of Rice's testimony in which she responds to a question from Jim Webb: Is it the position of this administration that it possesses the authority to take unilateral action against Iran in the absence of a direct threat without congressional approval?