In yet another version of "if only our pResident was actually Presidential, BBC News' Gordon Corera is reporting today that the current hostilities in the Middle East might have had a much different outcome had the Fake Cowboy From Crawford and his cronies done more than just issue rhetorical talking points.
In an article titled, Iran's gulf of misunderstanding with US the author relates items in recent history that haven't been mentioned much (if at all) in the M$M. First off, we are introduced to the US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, who happens to be the person most responsible for our relations with Iran. Sadly, his commentary on his work thus far:
"It's been 27 years since we've had a normal diplomatic, social and political relationship. And so for instance I am one of the people responsible for Iran in our government and yet I have never met an Iranian government official in my 25-year career."
Had this been the only thing of note from the article, I would have been ready to chalk it up to the amateurs maladministring our country and another sad chapter in the Bush Doctrine. In a sadly ironic twist, this malAdministration's idea of diplomacy is to open an Iranian Art Exhibit in Washington DC instead of actually talking with officials from that country.
Furthermore, to quote one of this malAdministration's favorite lines, "nine eleven changed everything," and had saner heads prevailed within the Bush Crime Family, so too could it have been with Iran. Not once, but twice did Tweedle Dumb and his Tweedle Dumbers have an opportunity to de-escalate tensions between US and Iran while probably making for a less tenuous situation in the Muddle-East.
The first one came just after 11 September, 2001. Even though the M$M missed out on these, did you know that:
in Iran, vast crowds turned out on the streets and held candlelit vigils for the victims. Sixty-thousand spectators respected a minute's silence at Tehran's football stadium.
As has been reported here (I believe, but couldn't find any examples), there were back-room negotiations with Iran regarding our attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan. In the "Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend" department, the grown-ups in the State Department worked closely with their counterparts in Iran to make for a more stable Taliban-free Afghanistan. Instead of using this as a building block to fostering better relations with Iran, all parties involved in these back-door negotiations were stunned when King Georgie tossed Iran in the "Axis of Evil" rhetorical group.
Even though this caused much consternation to the long-term development of positive relations with a major player in the Muddle-East, there was one more chance at redemption. According to Mr. Corera, the run up to the Illegal Insurrection in Iraq of 2003, a letter was sent by Iran offering a diplomatic approach to easing tensions in the region.
In it, Iran appeared willing to put everything on the table - including being completely open about its nuclear programme, helping to stabilise Iraq, ending its support for Palestinian militant groups and help in disarming Hezbollah.
"I believe the nuclear issue could have been resolved long time ago" --Javad Zarif, Iran ambassador
What did Iran want? Top of the list was a halt in US hostile behaviour and a statement that "Iran did not belong to 'the axis of evil.'"
Essentially, for the price of admitting that the Emperor had made a mistake in including Iran in his State of the Union speech, we could have had better relations with Iran, a more stable Muddle-East, more moderates in Iran would be in power, AND a resolution to the "nuclear" issue in Iran.
Please go read this article in full, as there is a great wealth if information on this issue.