Engaging Iran -- No Preconditions, No IllusionsAs we seek to deal with Iran, we need to recognize that country's national pride and its own perceptions of threats to its security. We also must understand that the following are Iran's main policy goals:
* They want their legitimate right to civilian nuclear technologies as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to be respected;
* They want stability on their borders, most notably with Iraq and Afghanistan -- and they DON'T want the civil war in Iraq to spin out of control, with millions of Iraqi refugees spilling into Iran and other neighboring countries;
* They want to be free of external security threats, either from within the region (Israel) or outside the region (the United States);
* They want to be able to develop regional energy and economic partnerships;
* They want integration into the global economy, including membership in the World Trade Organization and an end to trade and financial embargoes;
The P5+1 package represents an excellent starting point for negotiations which, I believe, can result in a diplomatic solution that keeps Iran from developing nuclear weapons and also achieves progress on a range of regional and international economic and security issues. The June 2006 package included the following important elements:
* Acknowledgment of Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy;
* The creation of a five-year fuel bank/buffer stock of nuclear fuel for Iran;
* An international fuel-cycle center in Russia involving Iran;
* An energy partnership among Iran, the European Union, and others
* Trade and investment incentives;
* A regional security forum involving Iran, other regional states, the US, Russia and China;
* A willingness on the part of the United States to talk directly with Iran.
On this last point, our country has other interests that we must discuss directly with Iran, including:
* Iran's help in forging stable governments in Iraq and Afghanistan;
* The end of threats and inflammatory rhetoric against Israel;
* Concrete and verifiable steps to end military support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and other violent groups.
The speech, like one of his typical speeches is very long and detailed. He outlines a plan to negotiate directly with Iran, stop
"Saber Rattling", and actually acknowledge past US failures with Iran. He actually mentions our involvement in over throwing their government, supporting the Shah, and supporting Iraq in a war against Iran. Few politicians mention that but the reality is that frames our negotiations with them and is the reason they refuse to trust us.
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