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Talking to the Mullahs

[Pajamas Media] Michael Ledeen - Last fall, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates remarked on the many failed efforts by the U.S. to reach some sort of modus vivendi with the Iranian regime. Every administration since 1979 has reached out to the Iranians in one way or another and all have failed. There is no reason to believe that the Iranians are interested in anything other than our destruction or domination. Which is not to say they won't talk. They love to talk, and they excel at talking, which they view quite differently from the way we look at "engagement" or "negotiations." The Iranians are quite capable of striking temporary deals with their worst enemies, fully intending to resume hostilities when circumstances are more favorable. Ken Pollack, former director of Persian Gulf affairs at the National Security Council, wrote: "In the Clinton Administration in 1999 and 2000, we tried very hard to put the grand bargain on the table....We made 12 separate gestures to Iran to try to demonstrate to them that...we were really willing to...put all of these big carrots on the table if the Iranians were willing to give us what we needed. And the Iranians couldn't." They couldn't, because hatred of America is the very essence of the Islamic Republic. If all we want to do is talk, they'll certainly talk. As the Iranians see it, if we're talking, they can continue to pursue their atomic bomb. The writer is the Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2009-02-04 06:00:00
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