bit by bit, finished and moved up

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As you know, I like Ahmadinejad. A lot. I think he has been grievously abused and undermined horribly by not-laudable interests in the West. Hard enough that he doesn't get to be a president in the sense of our presidents, that there is an authority above him calling the shots, and we continue to act as though he is a villain on their behalf, but it blows my mind that so few see into his words, and his bosses' words, to recognize the real signs of a decency we can only aspire to, and only begin aspiring to when we drop our damn exceptionalist conditioning. It's not only Republicans who suffer from this vicious malady. They're just less abashed about it.

So I'm going to go through this piece, bit by bit, and tell you what I think about it, but it could take me all day.

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And night, and at last, here it is. Sorry it was so late.
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Officials of Barack Obama's administration have drafted a letter to Iran from the president aimed at unfreezing US-Iranian relations and opening the way for face-to-face talks, the Guardian has learned.

The US state department has been working on drafts of the letter since Obama was elected on 4 November last year. It is in reply to a lengthy letter of congratulations sent by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on 6 November.

I remember Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to * too. It was written personally. And no one ever replied. Does Obama need a template from his advisors, his political advisors, to respond to congratulations? Really? Could not our new president simply reply in kind and say, "Hey, thanks! Hope to be talking with you soon," and get to the opening talks formalities and hassles between all the competing interests to present their utterly unreasonable conditions later? How stiff. How pompous.
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Diplomats said Obama's letter would be a symbolic gesture to mark a change in tone from the hostile one adopted by the Bush administration, which portrayed Iran as part of an "axis of evil".

It would be intended to allay the suspicions of Iran's leaders and pave the way for Obama to engage them directly, a break with past policy.

Which would be perfect with the simple, "Hey, thanks! Hope to be talking with you soon."
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State department officials have composed at least three drafts of the letter, which gives assurances that Washington does not want to overthrow the Islamic regime, but merely seeks a change in its behaviour. The letter would be addressed to the Iranian people and sent directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or released as an open letter.

So much for graciousness. Ignore Ahmadinejad. He's just a grunt. "Hey, Ayatollah, we won't overthrow you, just nuke you if you don't stop this 'nuclear power' baloney." Only, head honcho ayatollah tells Ahmadinejad some fleas have composed an ultimatum reiterating everything they've said for years. Tell them we're not deaf and we're not breaking any international laws or treaties, unlike others we could mention....
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One draft proposal suggests that Iran should compare its relatively low standard of living with that of some of its more prosperous neighbours, and contemplate the benefits of losing its pariah status in the west. Although the tone is conciliatory, it also calls on Iran to end what the US calls state sponsorship of terrorism.

The letter is being considered by the new secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, as part of a sweeping review of US policy on Iran. A decision on sending it is not expected until the review is complete.

To which we might rightfully respect the reply that states that sponsor terror and use their military might to blackmail others into agreeing to help bankrupt a country that supports freedom fighters against tyranny and genocide don't get to make these assertions in a lucid world... and whut? Is Mrs. Clinton your new Ayatollah?
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In an interview on Monday with the al-Arabiya television network, Obama hinted at a more friendly approach towards the Islamic Republic.

So write him back and say, "Hey, thanks!" et cetera.
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Ahmadinejad said yesterday that he was waiting patiently to see what the Obama administration would come up with. "We will listen to the statements closely, we will carefully study their actions, and, if there are real changes, we will welcome it," he said.

See? He already knows they aren't coming with anything he hasn't heard a thousand times a thousand ways.
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Ahmadinejad, who confirmed that he would stand for election again in June, said it was unclear whether the Obama administration was intent on just a shift in tactics or was seeking fundamental change. He called on Washington to apologise for its actions against Iran over the past 60 years, including US support for a 1953 coup that ousted the democratically elected government, and the US shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane in 1988.

What! Is he my soulmate? Asking Obama to be truthful and decent? Think Hillary is drafting anything approximating what it might take to get on solid ground... you know, grounded in reality? Not bloody likely.
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The state department refused to comment yesterday on the draft letters.

US concern about Iran mainly centres on its uranium enrichment programme, which Washington claims is intended to provide the country with a nuclear weapons capability. Iran claims the programme is for civilian purposes.

Which is just ridiculous from every angle because Iran is verifiedly doing only what is strictly legal under international law to which we are signatory, and they probably don't mind anyone having the notion that they would have a nuclear weapons capability since that's about the only thing that deters Israel from attacking their neighbors, but USE one? Are you nuts? Do you think Iranians are heathens with low IQs and want to see their country instantly turned to glass? Get real! I know you've heard this a thousand times before, but... get real! Let it sink in. Personally, I feel Iran with nukes is a much safer bet than Pakistan with nukes... or India.

Plus, I believe them about it being against their religion to use a nuclear weapon... offensively. In terms of the value of even just a solid possibility of having a nuke that could be delivered in case of an attack on Iran, think how this would create a very, very serious drag on Israel's -- our -- genocidal impunity. Why the hell are we against it anyway?
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The diplomatic moves are given increased urgency by fears that Israel might take unilateral action to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

Except they can't. They don't have the capability to get the whole job done.
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The scale of the problem facing the new American president was reinforced yesterday when a senior aide to Ahmadinejad, Aliakbar Javanfekr, said that, despite the calls from the US, Iran had no intention of stopping its nuclear activities. When asked about a UN resolution calling for the suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment, Javanfekr, the presidential adviser for press affairs, replied: "We are past that stage."

And he is one hundred percent correct. Been there. Done that. Bring something new to the table, or we don't care how you sugar it, you're fleas. Psychotic, genocidal fleas.
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One of the chief Iranian concerns revolves around suspicion that the US is engaged in covert action aimed at regime change, including support for separatist groups in areas such as Kurdistan, Sistan-Baluchestan and Khuzestan.

And we are.
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The state department has repeatedly denied that there is any American support for such groups.

And they're lying just as if Condi were still in charge. Identical. ABC isn't denying it and even if that was pure bluster... er... "psyops"... we've got the entire Middle East just teeming with black ops and everybody knows it. Do you think if you officially deny it that has any value at all? You stupid fucks. People are dying. The world is burning up and this is the best you can come up with?
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In its dying days, the Bush administration was planning to open a US interests section in the Iranian capital Tehran, one step down from an embassy. Bush's secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, said that never happened because attention was diverted by the Russian invasion of Georgia. Others say that rightwingers in the Bush administration mounted a rearguard action to block it.

The idea has resurfaced, but if there are direct talks with Iran, it may be decided that a diplomatic presence would obviate the need for a diplomatic mission there, at least in the short term.

Pfeh.
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While Obama is taking the lead on policy towards Iran, the administration will soon announce that Dennis Ross will become a special envoy to the country, following the appointments last week of George Mitchell, the veteran US mediator, as special envoy to the Middle East, and Richard Holbrooke, who helped to broker the Bosnia peace agreement, as special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ross, who took a leading role in the Middle East peace talks in Bill Clinton's administration, will be responsible on a day-to-day basis for implementing policy towards Iran.

As Flo has already noted in comments, Ross will go over like a lead balloon in Iran. You really want to click that link. Almost as though the new administration plans to keep right on antagonizing Iran until they get the excuse to attack them. Another shortcut facilitated by just taking on all Billary's planned administration wholesale, I guess.
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In a graphic sign of Iranian mistrust, the hardline newspaper Kayhan, which is considered close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has denounced Ross as a "Zionist lobbyist".

They mean a graphic sign of a heartbeat. Please. He is a Zionist lobbyist. Again, the Iranians are the ones playing with a full deck, here. You see that... don't you?
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Saeed Leylaz, a Tehran-based analyst, said a US letter would have to be accompanied by security guarantees and an agreement to drop economic sanctions. "If they send such a letter it will be a very significant step towards better ties, but they should be careful in not thinking Tehran will respond immediately," he said.

Not going to happen, but even if it did, this is completely reasonable.
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"There will be disputes inside the system about such a letter. There are lot of radicals who don't want to see ordinary relations between Tehran and Washington. To convince Iran, they should send a very clear message that they are not going to try to destroy the regime."

When you get right down to it, Iran ought to say to us, just go away and leave us alone, but they can't because we have all those killers running around trying to start things, and all those ships bobbing off their shore, and all these nukes we can threaten them with to force them to stop defending themselves against us. They're Alice down the rabbit hole, Winston Smith defending himself against Ingsoc.
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