Reuters tells us the Condi Rice has a crazy requirement before the US enters into talks with Iran about it's nuclear program:
A meeting with Rice would be the highest-level face-to-face contact between U.S. and Iranian officials since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Washington cut ties with Iran in 1980.
"It depends of course on what Iran does," she said in an interview with National Public Radio.
"If Iran is prepared to verifiably suspend its program and enter into negotiations, then we'll determine the level (of representation) but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the ministers meet at some point," she said.
In other words, Iran must stop researching nukes in order for the US to talk to Iran about stopping the research into nukes - diplomatic talks will begin once there's nothing to talk about. How likely does this scenario seem to you?
I say this again and again and again, but so many 'solutions' offered by the right are deliberately designed to fail. They're all about capitalizing on problems, not solving them. If there's a way to get mileage out of a crisis, they'll string it out, rather than try to solve it. In this case, since any 'crisis' is both hypothetical and as far as a decade in the future, they'll manufacture problems.
This one's already had a short term - and short-lived - payoff. Oil prices fell on the news that the US might enter into talks, but once the insane requirements Rice had for Iran became clear, prices rose again.
Before the war, the Bush administration was said to be gambling the presidency on the Iraq war. With approval ratings around 30%, it's easy to say that they lost. It's very likely that the GOP will lose the senate, if not the House. Bush, already a lame duck, will be a caretaker and a target of investigation.
So a showdown with Iran would be just what the GOP needs in November. Rice's demands are designed to get it.
--Wisco
