This is probably a trial balloon [1], a tactic of leaking information in order to gauge the reaction. For a long time in US foreign crime/terrorism policy ther

This is probably a trial balloon [1], a tactic of leaking information in order to gauge the reaction. For a long time in US foreign crime/terrorism policy there has been a sense of "find our enemies, no matter where they are, no matter the cost." Changing that positioning would be a big U-turn in rhetoric. By floating this change under the guise of "sources close to the matter", they get to gauge the reaction of interested parties while maintaining cover of deniability if it's poorly-received. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_balloon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_balloon