Allan, that’s the MONEY QUESTION. How do we approach negotiations? It matters. What’s the Iranian government’s biggest weakness? Supplies and resources like North Korea? I’d have to guess political destabilization. Unilateral talks with the US gives them the most cover, as an adversarial character would lend legitimacy. Not necessarily to our advantage to conduct things this way.
I always thought Reagan was just brilliant when he departed from the script on his visit to Russia, I can’t remember the details, walked out into the crowd in Moscow I think. The Cold War endgame always included hearts and minds. Gorby had to be smiling: “That son-of-a-bitch…” — in Russian of course. AFF, what was the backstory there? Any insights?
My suggestion with Iran, we haven’t even scratched the surface of alternatives. Some options haven’t presented themselves yet. Really, up to this point we’ve just backed ourselves into a corner, and in the process surrendered the terms of engagement to a worthy adversary.
