From the Washington Post: Iran Wants Immediate Talks but No Freeze
Iran offered yesterday to enter into immediate and “serious” negotiations on a broad range of issues with the Bush administration and its European allies but refused to abide by a U.N. Security Council demand that it suspend work at its nuclear facilities by the end of the month.
Tehran’s proposal came in response to an offer in June by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China for talks on the country’s nuclear program, and the possibility of future cooperation, if the Islamic republic would first agree to suspend its uranium enrichment work.
Iran certainly knows the effective rate of United Nations Security Counsel resolutions and it knows how to play them for the fools they have become. I am sure they realize that they will have no problem dragging this whole thing out until January 2009, when President Bush leaves office. I am sure they are hoping for a democrat like good ol’ Jimmy Carter to take his place. I am certainly hoping that does not happen.
Hey, Iraq played those suckers like banjos for 12 years, they probably figure they can continue this for at least 2 more years.
Final thought: It just occurred to me, could this be yet another elaborate scheme by Karl Rove to take the ‘06 and ‘08 elections and put the democrats deeper in the hole they continue to dig for themselves. I would not put it past him.