Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Engage or Enrage? That Is the Question

The Bush administration has dismissed the letter. "There would not be a written response to President Ahmadinejad," National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones told the AFP (Agence France Presse) news agency. "We've already given our response," he said, referring to the swift dismissal by U.S. officials."This letter is not the place where one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort. It really was a kind of philosophical and indeed religious attack on U.S. policies. There was nothing in it that suggested a way out of the nuclear stalemate," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, described the letter as unworthy of any discussion. "The thing speaks for itself," he said.But the Bush administration is facing increasing pressure both in the United States and from overseas to engage in direct talks with Iran. Read full story

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