Quote:
Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
(a) Not at all. Talking to them gives us a direct line on what they are thinking and what they want -- whether or not we can agree or are willing to give it to them. (Just like with litigation or deals, you have to be willing to allow negotiations to fail.)
(b) We really, really could use their cooperation in Iraq, and yes, they now do sort of have us over a barrel in some respects.
That is a big problem for us which I'm not sure how to resolve -- a by-product of the "Fuck everyone (at the same time)" foreign policy style of the first Bush Administration and the mishandling of Iraq.
See, some folks love to shit-talk, but that makes it a little tough to come back around later and try to work things out.
S_A_M
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So do you think we can talk to Iran without diminishing our ability to coerce them into not building a bomb?
I see almost no or zero upside in talking to them because they want us to be humiliated in Iraq, so why would they help us.
The down side of talking to them and asking them for help is that it makes it harder for us to stand tough on the nuclear issue. So doesn't talking to them about Iraq encourage then to finsh building a bomb?
