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After historic talks, US seeks action by Iran
Security in Iraq was the focus of the first US-Iran talks in nearly 30 years on Monday.
By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the May 29, 2007 edition
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BAGHDAD - The first public, senior-level talks between the United States and Iran in more than two decades were never going to be a lovefest.
But the fact that the four hours of discussions on Iraq's security took place at all here Monday suggests how much each of the two avowed opponents – and indeed the top leader of each country – wanted them.
On the US side, and for President George Bush, joining these talks signals a new determination to test all diplomatic avenues for bringing greater security and stability to Iraq. Beyond that, it heralds the rise of foreign-policy pragmatists within the US administration.
For Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, sitting down with the US signifies recognition by the world's superpower that Iran is a major power not just in Iraq, but in the Middle East.
Iran underscored that objective Monday by proposing a trilateral mechanism of the US, Iraq, and Iran for addressing security issues, a proposal that if accepted would presumably lock the US into a dialogue with Iran. The US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who led the US delegation, did not dismiss the idea outright but said Washington would have to review any such proposals.
Noting that he told the Iranians, led by their ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, that the US first wants to see Iran shutting down supplies of arms and explosives to Iraqi Shiite militias. Mr. Crocker said, "We will wait to see what happens next on the ground."
Crocker's characterization of the talks as "positive" suggests, without sounding overly anxious, that they are an avenue the administration wishes to pursue.
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