Did the Bushites ever consider that they might
have gotten the Iranians to stop their 'uranium
enrichment activities' if they had spoken with
them? They didn't and don't want to talk with
them because they WANT a war. At today's press
conference with Shrub he smirked and simpered
and tried to make those who asked questions he
didn't want to answer look like fools. He refused
to answer any questions about the Libby trial at
all. He came out of it looking like a fool and a
lying hypocrite himself. He insisted that he
wouldn't do talks with Iran because there
wouldn't be any result. How the hell would he
know until talks were done? (I'm home from
work today due to the weather, so I was able
to see the nutcase live on tv.)

2003 Memo Says Iranian Leaders Backed Talks

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 14, 2007; Page A14

The Swiss ambassador to Iran informed U.S. officials in 2003 that an Iranian
proposal for comprehensive talks with the United States had been reviewed
and approved by Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei;
then-President Mohammad Khatami; and then-Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi,
according to a copy of the cover letter to the Iranian document.

"I got the clear impression that there is a strong will of the regime to
tackle the problem with the U.S. now and to try it with this initiative,"
Tim Guldimann, the ambassador, wrote in a cover letter that was faxed to the
State Department on May 4, 2003. Guldimann attached a one-page Iranian
document labeled "Roadmap" that listed U.S. and Iranian aims for potential
negotiations, putting on the table such issues as an end to Iran's support
for anti-Israeli militants, action against terrorist groups on Iranian soil
and acceptance of Israel's right to exist.











The cover letter, which had not been previously disclosed, was provided by a
source who felt its contents were mischaracterized by State Department
officials. Switzerland serves as a diplomatic channel for communications
between Tehran and Washington because the two countries broke off relations
after the 1979 seizure of U.S. Embassy personnel.

Guldimann's two-page fax prompted a debate among foreign policy
professionals on whether the Bush administration missed an opportunity four
years ago to strike a "grand bargain" with Iran at a time when Washington
appeared at the height of its power after the invasion of Iraq and Iran had
not mastered uranium enrichment. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was
questioned about the document on Capitol Hill last week. She said she did
not recall seeing it when she was national security adviser. "I just don't
remember ever seeing any such thing," she said.

Former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage is quoted in this
week's issue of Newsweek saying that the administration "couldn't determine
what was the Iranians' and what was the Swiss ambassador's" in the proposal,
adding that his impression at the time was that the Iranians "were trying to
put too much on the table" for effective negotiations. Guldimann wrote that
he had several long discussions with Sadegh Kharrazi, Iran's ambassador to
France -- and also nephew to the foreign minister and brother-in-law to
Khamenei's son. According to Guldimann, Sadegh Kharrazi reported going
"through every word of this paper" with Khamenei, Khatami and the foreign
minister. "The question is dealt with in high secrecy. Therefore no one else
has been informed," Kharrazi added.

The supreme leader had reservations on some points but agreed with 85 to 90
percent of the road map, and "everything can be negotiated," Kharrazi said,
noting any reservations could be discussed at the first bilateral meeting.
Kharrazi added: "There is a clear interest to tackle the problem of our
relations with the U.S. I told them, this is a golden opportunity."
Guldimann noted that the "lack of trust in the U.S. imposes them to proceed
very carefully and very confidentially." Kharrazi proposed that Armitage
represent the United States at the first meeting because he had made
positive comments on Iranian democracy. Guldimann reported that he thought
that was impossible, and he told Kharrazi that the Iranians should aim for a
lower-level official.

"This document did not come through official channels but rather was a
creative exercise on the part of the Swiss ambassador," State Department
spokesman Tom Casey said yesterday. "The last 30 years are filled with
examples of individuals claiming to represent Iranian views. We have offered
to Iran a chance to sit across the table from us and discuss their nuclear
issue and anything else they would like, should they simply, verifiably
suspend their uranium-enrichment activities."