If this is all as it seems to be, the election of Iran's new president, Hassad Rouhani, could be the best thing to happen in the world since Barack Obama was elected president of the United States.
Rouhani is calling on world leaders to take advantage of the moment to re-establish ties with Iran. If he doesn't go too far too fast, this could be a transformative moment.
Look at the signals sent in just the past week:
1. Sent Rosh Hoshana greetings to Israel.
2. Released political prisoners.
3. Exchanged letters with President Obama.
4. Praised "flexibility" in negotiations.
5. Perhaps most important . . . transferred responsibility for nuclear negotiations from the military to the Foreign Ministry.
All this has been done, apparently, with the approval of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Obviously there has been a major shift inside their governing groups. Now add to that the following:
Two of the strongest defenders (and suppliers) of Syria's Assad are Russia and Iran. Both leaders have in the past week made peace overtures to the U.S. And Obama is not shutting them out. He's cautiously and correctly exploring their sincerity.
Putin is brokering a deal to get rid of Syria's chemical weapons. Rouhani stated that Syria is ready for talks with the rebels.
If Obama, Putin, and Rouhani could work this out and bring a peaceful settlement to Syria -- then Obama would have earned his Nobel Peace Prize.
At least, he should seize this moment and cautiously explore it. And that is exactly what he is doing. President Obama should be praised, not criticized, for withstanding the goading pressure from war hawks that think we should bomb them anyway.
Ralph
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