Everything else will align up, naturally. The world will be better, and people will begin to be happier, hopeful, animated, and be less weary. If none go to jail, or the variant spelling GAOL...

MISERY and troubles will compound.

GAOLE. I no can resist this request.

If you live in the East, look at Moon!

It's a gold ball, dangling in the night.

People will be confined to dismay, and greater despair. Without hope people perish. Hope.

The Bushies have apparently been working on this security pact for a year. With the election over, I expect they're trying to appear to wrap this Iraq business up a bit, being worried now about their "legacy" and all that. Sorry, I just don't buy that the Iranians are so happy about Obama's election that they are suddenly all hugs and kisses (and singing Kumbaya) with us in Iraq, especially since Obama has pretty much backtracked off those earlier statements about talking with Iran directly. Also, why do you think we (or the Iranians for that matter) will honor this or any other agreement if something changes, and we feel our national security is threatened?

Obama will be in charge soon enough, and then he'll rightfully be getting all the the credit or blame as to what happens in Iraq, with Iran, and with so many other issues. But trying to claim this proves Obama's diplomatic approach (which is what, by the way?) is already paying dividends in Iraq stretches credibility at best.

8 years later it is easy to forget how the pinko librul set worshipped the Great Stainmaker (remember the term?). For instance, do you still remember Nina Burleigh who said keeping abortion legal was worth of some bimbo having to give blowjob to Bill Clinton?"

Or would you like to forget it?

Yes, commies and socialists, those were the emotions of the day.

Then came 8 years of evil repuglishitfucklican terrornazism and the term Bush Derangement Syndrome had to be coined to describe the emotional and thinking abnormalities many of you have displayed.

But here I am to first describe the entire psychopathology with one parsimonious term: hatred-worshippive disorder.

Just as sufferers of manic-depressive disorder are buffeted, helplessly, by their emotions of intense euphoria and deep depression, the sufferers of hatred-worshippive disorder are afflicted by irrational hatred towards any republican president on one hand, and by its counterpart: a surreal admiration of any democrat president on the other.

A pathognomonic symptom is when anything positive is immediately attributed to the worshipped democrat-object even if the evidence claimed to be supportive by the worshipper is not supportive at all.

My diagnosis of patient Gary K is "Hatred-worshippive Disorder."

This is a Pinko-American male of unknown age, who stated "Obama's diplomatic approach is already paying dividends." Then added, illogically and indicating the existence of significant thought disorder: "The agreement, ... the U.S. has been negotiating with Iraq for almost a year".

Recommended treatment: supportive, repeating "yes, dear, yes dear".

Prognosis: Grim

I'm hard pressed to understand why Iran would not welcome a " a robust diplomatic engagement..." as opposed to the bluster they've been treated to over so many years. Since no one actually knows what the future course of events will be with regard to relations between the US and Iran, it is reasonable to expect that diplomatic engagement represents the simplest answer, and is therefore the one that makes most sense.

You sound nice. Have nice nightmares.

Hope you have a nice gasp and heaves.

You reminded me: hate's consequence.

Meditate on your last dying `moments.

cool, pretty, and practice death gurgle.

back in the 50's, iran was leaning towards the soviets, so the cia killed their prime minister and supplied money for thuggery leading to the rule of the pahlavi dictatorship. this regime was so cruel, and so corrupt, that a revolution was successful, led by clerics with khomeini at the top.

america doesn't tolerate resistance, so saddam's iraq was supplied with money and guns with instructions to attack iran. he was happy to comply, it was a free war.

with this history, no one can be surprised if iranians hate americans. you would too. but the adults who suffered through this sustained covert war with america are nearly dead. the young people are more interested in global pop culture than maintaining righteous indignation. they are 2/3 of iran, now.

obama can skip over history and talk about the future. those young people will listen, relations between the nations can be normalized, and another bit of american thuggery can be scabbed over.

but if you don't know this history, the world is a mystifying place.

How refreshing to read your ode to hope. Going through the Greenwald thread got my feathers got progressively more ruffled. But don't believe any rumors that I had the vapors ;)

Gary Kamiya's article does not mention on important fact. Iran's economy is in deep trouble. Recent articles in both the los Angeles times and AbcNews have pointed out that Iran has serious problems with inflation and unemployment. Iran's faces a record deficit. The falling price of oil has created additional havoc. Ahmadinejad is increasingly unpopular. I can even remember reports last spring about gasoline riots breaking out. And, elections are scheduled in June of 2009.

I agree that some sort of dialogue is in order, but the big question is WHEN. Obama has a lot of domestic problems to deal with first. He needs to get Project Apollo launched. If we can begin a massive drive to free ourselves and the world from the tyranny of oil - we will have a giant trump card in our dealings with both Iran and Russia (which is also facing serious economic problems.)

There is little doubt that right now Obama is very popular throughout the world. He has appeared on the cover of Spiegel, Afrique Magazine, Paris match (actually he made the cover in 2 consecutive editions). I haven't seen the current edition of Jeune Afrique. There may be a number of reasons Ahmadinejad wants to begin "dialogue" with Obama.

My hope is that Obama will apply basektball strategy to Iran. Right now Team Obama has control of the ball. They have a home court advantage and for Iran, the clock is running out. Obama may want to delay talking to Iran - perhaps until after the elections. And, he needs to start Project Apollo. That would definitely give Obama and the US a winning hand.