Battleland

We Mean It This Time

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Sunday, January 8, on CBS’s Face the Nation:

We have made very clear that the United States will not tolerate blocking of the Straits of Hormuz. That’s another red line for us — and that we will respond to that.

— Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Friday, January 13, on the front page of the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is relying on a secret channel of communication to warn Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that would provoke an American response, according to United States government officials.

Apparently, the supreme leader’s cable system doesn’t get CBS.