TOM RICKS IS BEING USED. That’s my take on this story of his in The Washington Post today. The story explains how a “cautious approach — held by some top generals and admirals in the military establishment, including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — is shaping the administration’s consideration of war plans for Iraq.”

The only question is who’s using him, and why. The way I see it, he’s either being used in a leakwar by top military officials who are more interested in fighting the White House than Saddam, or he’s being used as a channel for disinformation designed to put Saddam Hussein off his guard. But I don’t see any scenario in which he’s not being used by somebody.