Joshua Hersh and Christina Wilkie, writing for the Huffington Post in an article titled:  "Obama's Stretegy of Talking To Countries Instead of Going To War Might Just Be Crazy Enough To Work."

"WASHINGTON -- When a less-gray-haired Sen. Barack Obama declared, early in his first presidential campaign, that he would be willing to meet with the leaders of estranged nations like Iran and Syria without preconditions, he was roundly chastised by both Democrats and Republicans alike for naivete.

"But now, after six arduous, solitary years of standing by a policy of preferring accord with rogue nations over recourse to full-on war, his approach seems to be on the verge of bearing fruit.

"In Syria, President Bashar Assad has agreed to open his chemical weapons program to international oversight, and eventual destruction . . .  And in Iran, a new, moderate president has responded to a personal letter from Obama, engaging in direct communication for the first time in years . . . .

"None of the developments has occurred without context or notes of caution, but it's nevertheless a remarkable turn of events for a president whose foreign policy, even a month ago, appeared to be in hapless disarray. If the diplomatic tracks in Syria and Iran pan out, proponents say they could point the way to the resolution of two of the most significant international crises facing the nation, without any American-caused warfare.

"'The administration's willingness to show both strength and smarts is paying off . . . An ancillary benefit has been that it's demonstrated to the Iranians that the U.S. is thinking before it's shooting, and that's a pretty new trend for the U.S.'. . . "

Ralph