Iran Wants to Negotiate

Hello, America? Anybody out there?

Holy dropping bombs and real rolling mushroom clouds, can't these
guys take a hint, have a clue, get the message?

We all know about the first letter from President Ahmadinejad.
The one Condi didn't
bother translating or reading before dissing. It was a rambling, windy wind-up
from President Ahmadinejad that went nowhere. Still, it was the first
letter in 27 years from an Iranian president to an American president.
Couldn't these guys at least have read the thing?

However, you might not be aware that there was a second letter.
It was linked discreetly inside a TIME
magazine piece about the letter Condi didn't read, which came from someone far more powerful than the Iranian president. The second letter was from Hassan Rohani, the spokesperson (for lack of a better title) for the Supreme
Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, who has all the power in Iran. Unlike Ahmadinejad's
letter, Rohani, who used to be Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, lays out 8 specific
points the Iranians are willing to implement to change the dynamics between our two
countries and the world atmosphere currently set on explode.

It's not a minor point to ask, Why isn't anyone talking about this move towards negotiation with
the U.S.? Why the silence?

Bill at LiberalOasis
has great coverage on it, but everywhere else it's being treated as second tier material. LiberalOasis also points
out something I hadn't seen, which is an article in the St. Petersburg Times
that quotes Bush
on Iran just yesterday: “It looks like it did not answer the main
question that the world is asking and that is, “When will you get rid of
your nuclear program?','' Bush said.

Excuse me, but this is the day after the letter from Hassan Rohani
appeared. President Bush either flatly lied, or worse, doesn't know about the
second letter, even though it was published in TIME. The other fact is that this isn't the first entreaty towards
the U.S. Iran has made. I've linked to Steve Clemons many times on the subject
of Iran, but let's do it one
more time, with feeling.

The bottom line is that Iran wants to negotiate.
They're writing multiple entreaties to President Bush, none of which are being
considered or even remotely covered by the traditional press. When you have
the top person, a man who speaks for the Ayatollah, coming forth to present
“Iran's Nuclear Program: The Way Out,” you'd think the American president
and the Republican Party would sit up, take notice and listen, not to mention
actually read, consider and reply to the gesture; not lie about it in an article to some
Florida newspaper as you wax philosophical on your bro's presidential chances.

Silence is not a suitable response when nuclear weaponry is the
issue. I've done drills ducking under my desk, but it doesn't make me feel any safer than it did the first time around.

Here's a portion of Hassan Rohani's letter. Again, notice the title. Can the
Iranians be any clearer? Better yet, what will it take President Bush to pay
attention? Or are the plans for Iran already set, just like they were for Iraq?

Iran would make an active contribution, provided that other countries with similar sensitive fuel cycle programs also do the same, to fixing the loopholes in the non-proliferation system and to developing a technically credible international control regime. Iran would consider ratifying the Additional Protocol, which provides for intrusive and snap inspections. Iran would address the question of preventing break-out from the NPT. Iran would agree to negotiate with the IAEA and states concerned about the scope and timing of its industrial-scale uranium enrichment. Iran would accept an IAEA verifiable cap on enrichment limit of reactor grade uranium. Iran would accept an IAEA verifiable cap on the production of UF6 — uranium hexafluoride, which is used for enrichment — during the period of negotiation for the scope and timing of its industrial scale enrichment. Iran and the IAEA would agree on terms of the continuous presence of inspectors in Iran to verify credibly that no diversion takes place in Iran. Iran's readiness to welcome other countries to partner with Iran in a consortium provides additional assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. It is not Iran's intention to disregard Security Council decisions. The way out is for the Security Council to mandate the IAEA to address this issue and establish a negotiating process for a fixed period to formulate a credible plan taking into account the suggestions I made in my personal capacity. Iran is prepared to work with the IAEA and all states concerned about promoting confidence in its fuel cycle program. But Iran cannot be expected to give in to United States' bullying and non-proliferation double standards. “Iran's Nuclear Program: The Way Out,” by Hassan Rohani