Another Gulf of Tonkin Moment?

Anyone who is a news junkie has probably noticed how the use of the Viet Nam analogy for the current war in Iraq has steadily grown over time. At first the pundits from both the left and the right were quick to point out the analogy's limitations. Now they are more likely to point out the analogy's inevitabilities.

Is the recent attack in the city of Karbala going to help escalate and widen the war much like the Gulf of Tonkin incident did for the Viet Nam war?

The attack was stunning in it's execution, with men in fake US uniforms and badges traveling in a fake convoy. Normally we blame Al Quaeda for well coordinated attacks, now we are blaming Iran. Will this incident become our excuse for making a direct bombing attack or worse on Iran?

The paranoid part of myself which I give voice to in these blog entries suspects that the radically right wing exit strategy, which will never be voiced in public in the united states, is beginning to unfold. We cannot leave Iraq with Iran poised to ascend to a position of dominance in the Middle East. What can we do to prevent this from happening?

Hopefully, it will not be to widen the war and engage Iran militarily, hoping to leave them with their hands full of nation rebuilding (their own nation to rebuild that is), rather than to engage them diplomatically.