Seattle Times: Talk with Iran, about anything

The Bush administration cannot live in a topsy-turvy world where it denounces a country as the greatest single threat to peace, and then refuses to meet and talk with that adversary.

Iran wants to sit down with U.S. representatives for what is being described as the first open, direct contacts between the two nations since 1979 and the Islamic revolution. Seize the moment.

Talk about the war in neighboring Iraq, chat up Iran's nuclear program. Find out what is on the mind of a government that is being touted as the largest U.S. security challenge.

A cynic might suggest this would be the first contact with Iran since the Reagan administration swapped arms for hostages with the Islamic regime. A pragmatist would point to quiet efforts by the U.S. and Iran to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban in 2001, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Bring the discussions out of the back channels of diplomacy into the full light of day. For starters, reveal to everyday Iranians that their leadership finds a value in meeting with the satanic Americans. more...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002876303_iraned20.html

They can do anything---it's just those unintended consequences they haven't figure out yet. As the latest Empire, they can create their own Reality (and fortunately, fewer countries are willing to go along with it today than ever).