I'm not buying it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022700894.htmlThe United States agreed yesterday to join high-level talks with Iran and Syria on the future of Iraq, an abrupt shift in policy that opens the door to diplomatic dealings the White House had shunned in recent months despite mounting criticism.
The move was announced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in testimony on Capitol Hill, after Iraq said it had invited neighboring states, the United States and other nations to a pair of regional conferences.
"I would note that the Iraqi government has invited all of its neighbors, including Syria and Iran, to attend both of these regional meetings," Rice told the Senate Appropriations Committee. "We hope that all governments will seize this opportunity to improve the relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region."
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It sounds hopeful. A first step. And totally, so totally out of line with everything this administration has ever done or said. I trust nothing they say. Nothing.
Meanwhile..Dunnis Kuchinch doesn't suffer fools:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070312/kucinichPresident Bush has claimed the Iranian government is supplying deadly weapons to fighters in Iraq and that those weapons are being used to kill US troops in Iraq. This sounds horrific and frightening--and that is the point. The Administration is preparing for a military strike against Iran. The justification chosen by the Administration is the one circumstance in which a President could bypass Congress and still wage a military conflict.
The newly claimed grievance with Iran could be used to satisfy section 2(c) of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which states that the President can introduce armed forces into a conflict or a national emergency created by an attack upon the armed forces. The President seems to have laid the groundwork for an attack on Iran while avoiding Congressional approval.
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Others conclude that the weaker Bush becomes on Iraq, the more badly things go there, the weaker his push for anything military to do with Iran becomes. I think the opposite is true. Nothing to distract from utter failure like something new. And look! we tried to talk with these monsters and they are attacking the troops in Iraq. We HAD to defend the troops. That's so easy a scenario anyone can envision it. This coupled with Seymour Hersch's latest writing, and I am troubled. Is the Bush admin weakened or being backed into the corner just to do what they always wanted to do anyway?