US welcomes Iran’s increased cooperation | Iran news | Jerusalem Post

US welcomes Iran’s increased cooperation | Iran news | Jerusalem Post.

Bush’s 2nd administration is partly to blame for this mess, since they dropped the ball on enforcement of their threats against Iran’s uranium enrichment. However, Obama’s people have effectively given up prevention for containment by negotiating without preconditions. Do these people not understand that an Iranian nuke is big trouble for the U.S. and all of Europe, not just Israel? The yelling and screaming seems to go in one ear and out the other with these people.

Iran’s mullahs are in a weakened state at home now, and in order to address that, are clearly stalling and appearing flexible, without actually changing their position. Meanwhile, Obama has eroded the most basic deterrent of negotiation – basic premises from which one doesn’t budge unless one received significant concessions from the other side. Again, I’m no game theorist precisely, but the morons running U.S. foreign policy in this administration, with all their Ivy League degrees and supposed expertise, can’t understand the basic of Psychology 101. How sad and disappointing, not to mention enraging…

Letter From Tehran: Iran’s New Hard-Liners | Foreign Affairs

Letter From Tehran: Iran’s New Hard-Liners | Foreign Affairs.

A useful advanced primer on the internal power struggles of the Iranian regime, detailing a recent takeover of cabinet posts and critical industries by Revolutionary Guards’ “new Right” fundamentalists, who apparently control $12 billion a year smuggling networks which feed directly off Iran’s unchecked pariah status. By this analysis, it’s time to roll up Iran’s carpet of bullshit and pull it out from under the regime. There are no pragmatists or real-politikers in Iranian government now, and they are not about  to materialize, short of highly unlikely regime change. Marg bar diktator!

Small side note: how did a guy named Jerry Guo (the article’s author) end up as an I-Banking analyst in Tehran, of all places? Sounds slightly fishy, methinks.