Thursday, February 19, 2009

Cohen nails it on Iran

Roger Cohen writes a solid piece on Iran, its goals, and the realistic expectations that can be expected of it. Basically, he says, the US must give up on regime change and the use of military force on Iran, and give up denying Iran the nuclear fuel cycle and some degree of regional influence, and in return we can get verification that the fuel cycle isn't being diverted to nuclear arms, an end to military support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and aid towards stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan. Both sides will work harder for a 2-state solution on Israel-Palestine, as part of Cohen's proposed grand bargain.

Oddly, Iran sent us an offer sheet of basically these precise negotiating terms 6 years ago, which the Bush Administration ignored. Time to take that up again. I've got a copy on my desk. If the Obama Administration needs it, they can borrow mine.

No comments: