provocation and alienation in iraq

Juan Cole asks, did the US just provoke Iran, with the attack on Iran's consulate in the Kurdish part of Iraq? The question is, was that intended by the de facto Bush Administration to provoke Iran into doing something stupid, to justify some sort of attack on Iran? I was surprised to hear the Secretary of State say that attacking the consulate and arresting the diplomats was okay. I thought we generally frowned on that sort of thing? I guess we only do when it is OUR diplomats.

In the process, the US also alienated the Kurdish regime. That's real bright, since they are the only people in Iraq who actually kind of like what the US has done.