That Gates Memo

Laura Rozen tries to decode the weekend leak of a Gates memo on Iran:

Discussing the matter with former senior Pentagon and State Department official and columnist Leslie Gelb yesterday, Gelb said it’s no secret that there were no great options on Iran, and he had pointed that out in a February piece that is worth looking at. Gelb’s piece benefits from discussions he was having with friends and former colleagues in the Pentagon and elsewhere, who seem informed by the thinking the administration was doing on its Iran options, even if they hadn’t seen or known about Gates's memo...[Gelb said to] slow down their program, protect regional allies, pursue targeted sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard -- and be willing to go back to the negotiating table with Iran if the opportunity arises.

If I had to guess, this would be closer to Gates's thinking on Iran than the way his memo was portrayed.