Iran Options

[*kryogenix*]

^ Wow. Is this fact or merely a rumor? I love Wikipedia, but my trust in the site has declined, unfortunately..

On a brighter note:

YAYYY. I'm going to DC for an awards program, and I get to meet ambassadors and pretend to solve a nuclear proliferation crisis! I'm psyched. Are you psyched, kryo? I'm sure you are.

We don't know yet. Some guy from the New York Times wrote a book on it. I'm still skeptical though.

Good Luck with your model negotiation thing and congrats on winning the essay contest.

1) I don't know about secret talks. We might have agents operating in Iran secretly, but I don't think there is any secret communication between our countries.

2) I've read that a large chunk (possibly even the majority) of the country is actually pro-west, but they are silenced by the government. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the Iranians are actually against starting a confrontation with the United States.

3) I'm a little worried about this one. If we take the initiative and invade, people are going to complain about how it's going to be another Iraq. But if we wait for Iran to make a move, the consequence might be an atomic bomb in an American city. I'm for avoiding military action until all possible non-violent measures are exhausted.

[innovation]

The Economist says this: (I can't find the article online)

Few believe official claims that Muhammad Nahavandian's recent trip to Washington, DC was "personal". As a member of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) of a country George Bush regards as a major threat to world peace, it may be wondered how Mr. Nahavandian breezed through American immigration.

Also, Iran is eager to conduct talks regarding sectarian violence in Iraq (in order to improve its diplomatic standing), but the nuclear issue is getting in the way:

Indeed, not since 2002, when domestic infighting scotched an Iranian effort to negotiate secretly with the United States, has Tehran been so abuzz with talk about talks... The likelihood of such meetings happening, let alone achieving anything, is receding among fiery speculation that America is planning military attacks on Iran if diplomacy fails to persuade it to stop its nuclear production.

Clearly, Iran wants to stay diplomatically involved. Could political isolation convince Ahmadinejad to turn his nuclear program around?

[radhikaeatsraman]

Okay, we're screwed.

We're all going to hell. I'll see ya there, bitches.
Iran and Palestine are getting close. Palestine's taking aid from Iran, and this could be a potentially dangerous and scary situation. *panics*