from SLATE: >The Los Angeles Times leads with the White House appearing to toss a letter from Iran's president into the circular file, with officials saying it was just a meandering mishmash, a sense that the [Wall Street JOURNAL], which looked at the letter, confirms. "This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort," said Secretary of State Rice....
The WSJ says Iranian President Ahmadinejad's letter doesn't include
any real proposals but does have a section speculating that the 9/11 attacks couldn't have happened "without coordination" or "infiltration" of U.S. intel agencies. "Of course this is just an educated guess," he wrote. (Is the White House going to release the letter? How about the Wall Street Journal?)
Not that detailed invitations to talk would have mattered much. "We
don't have anything to say to Iran until they give up their pursuit of nuclear weapons," said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton [such a wise and moderate man!].
USA [TODAY] flags what seems to be a bit of little-appreciated
history: Three years ago, Iran proposed wide-ranging negotiations, including over the nuclear issue. The Bush administration, according to one national-security official involved at the time, refused to talk.
As for why Ahmadinejad tried to get a new pen pal, everybody cites
the White House's explanation that Iran is just trying to muck up U.S. attempts to tighten the screws at the Security Council. That's probably part of it. But the [Washington] Post also notices a domestic component. "With such a letter," says the WP, "he is following the example of the prophet Muhammad, who was known to write even to his enemies." Apparently, 2006 (or its equivalent) has been designated the "Year of the Prophet."< all I can say is that the Bushwhackers have chosen (perhaps years ago) to threaten war or to actually launch it (which would likely involve strategic bombing, even nuclear attack). Gettting the letter from Iran could just have well caused Rice _et al_ to say "This opens the way to new talks" or some such diplomatic drivel. They wouldn't have to make any real commitments, so that would have been a risk-free strategy. But instead they simply spurn the Iranian approach. A bunch of assholes! -- Jim Devine / "Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats." -- Howard Aiken
