The Case for Engaging Iran
published on realclearworld.com: http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2009/09/06/the_case_for_engaging_iran_97136.html September 6, 2009 The Case for Engaging Iran By Leon Hadar The U.S. and its allies are currently drawing the outline of new UN sanctions against Iran. U.S. President Barack Obama should resist the pressure from those politicians and pundits who, in the name of helping dissidents and promoting democracy in Iran, would effectively torpedo a pragmatic policy of opening a dialogue with Tehran which could lead in the short term to a deal to freeze Iran's nuclear program. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that Obama's proposed initiative for diplomatic engagement with Iran is all but dead in light of the political upheaval that has followed the questionable outcome of the June 12 presidential election in Iran.The country's internal turmoil, in this view, has diminished the chances of resolving the diplomatic standoff over the Islamic Republic's refu