“It is my opinion, it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq,” said CIA Director Michael Hayden on Wednesday.

Is this another case of incorrect intelligence?  On Friday, Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s former president, criticized those who were causing trouble abroad.  Specifically, he singled out “taking up arms,” “causing explosions,” and “establishing groups to carry out sabotage.”  “This is the biggest treason to Islam and the revolution,” he said to students in northern Iran.

Khatami did not name names, but he didn’t have to.  Coalition forces are finding more and more Iranian-made mortars, rockets, small arms, and roadside bombs in Iraq, and it’s clear from the date stamps that they were manufactured this year.  Tehran has also been funding and training militants.

We don’t need Hayden or even Khatami to tell us what’s going on.  Iran is killing Americans.  We have tried to work things out with its leaders, but even after three rounds of discussions, they have stepped up their military meddling in Iraq.  And yesterday, Tehran said it will no longer talk to the United States about the Iraqi insurgency.

So now that diplomacy with Tehran has failed, what is Washington going to do?  We only have two viable choices.  We can leave Iraq, or we can do all within our power to stop Iran from killing even more Americans.  In my book, no other choice is acceptable.  It is simply wrong for our country to send young men and women into battle knowing that some of them will die because we are unwilling to take action against a hostile nation that, as a matter of policy, is killing them.