Officials today have admitted that Gen. David Petraeus signed a secret order months ago to dramatically escalate the number of covert military operations taking place in the Middle East. Special focus was said to have been given to Somalia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

Gen. Petraeus

Though officials spun the operation as aimed primarily at al-Qaeda, some sources have conceded that the Iran operations were aimed at “paving the way” for an eventual US invasion of Iran, should President Obama order one in the near future.

The US has been openly funding opposition figures in Iran in an attempt at forcing “regime change,” and in the past it has also funded terrorist outfit Jundallah, but little is known about its direct on-the-ground operations in the region, except that they are growing at a serious clip.

The overall results of the US escalation have yet to be seen, but the numerous attacks against targets in Yemen in December, including the failed Christmas Eve assassination of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, appear to have been at least partially related to the Petraeus order.

But while the attacks are the most visible result of the order, officials report it primarily focuses on spying across the region. Some analysts are expressing concerns that the military’s spying, particularly in allied nations, could do serious harm to US diplomatic goals in the region.