Israel Matzav

'Please take a letter to the Ayatollah'

President Barack Hussein Obama (also known as President Hopenchange) has demanded asked begged pleaded with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give up his nuclear weapons program. On Wednesday night, Ahmadinejad gave Obama his answer: He gave him the finger.

But Obama isn't going to give up on Hopenchange so easily. And so, he is going to send a letter to Ayatollah Khameni (Hat Tip: Memeorandum). By the way, Khameni is no more 'moderate' than Ahmadinejad.

The US state department has been working on drafts of the letter since Obama was elected on 4 November last year. It is in reply to a lengthy letter of congratulations sent by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on 6 November.

Diplomats said Obama's letter would be a symbolic gesture to mark a change in tone from the hostile one adopted by the Bush administration, which portrayed Iran as part of an "axis of evil".

It would be intended to allay the ­suspicions of Iran's leaders and pave the way for Obama to engage them directly, a break with past policy.

State department officials have composed at least three drafts of the letter, which gives assurances that Washington does not want to overthrow the Islamic regime, but merely seeks a change in its behaviour. The letter would be addressed to the Iranian people and sent directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or released as an open letter.

One draft proposal suggests that Iran should compare its relatively low standard of living with that of some of its more prosperous neighbours, and contemplate the benefits of losing its pariah status in the west. Although the tone is conciliatory, it also calls on Iran to end what the US calls state sponsorship of terrorism.

The letter is being considered by the new secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, as part of a sweeping review of US policy on Iran. A decision on sending it is not expected until the review is complete.

In Tehran, which has denounced Obama's special envoy to the country, Dennis Ross, as a 'Zionist lobbyist,' I'm sure this is what's going on outside the Presidential palace:



Yes, they're singing "Deliver the letter, the sooner the better," so that Amhadinejad and Khameni can continue to toy with America's neophyte President while Iran continues to build its nuclear weapons program. In fact, a Tehran analyst is quoted by al-Guardian as saying what the letter will 'have' to include in order to get Ahmadinejad's attention:

Saeed Leylaz, a Tehran-based analyst, said a US letter would have to be accompanied by security guarantees and an agreement to drop economic sanctions. "If they send such a letter it will be a very significant step towards better ties, but they should be careful in not thinking Tehran will respond immediately," he said.

"There will be disputes inside the system about such a letter. There are lot of radicals who don't want to see ordinary relations between Tehran and Washington. To convince Iran, they should send a very clear message that they are not going to try to destroy the regime."

Got that President Hopenchange?

At Hot Air, Allahpundit wonders whether Obama will tack an 'apology' for American behavior over the past sixty years (as Ahmadinejad has demanded) onto the letter. At Powerline, John takes this plan as a reminder of how dangerously naive Obama is about foreign policy.

Jules Crittenden has a hysterical post in which he imagines Obama and that special lady (not Michelle you fools - Hillary) working on the letter. Read the whole thing.

But to borrow an idea from Jim Hoft, maybe we should just ask Brian Williams to draft the letter. He'll tell Ahmadinejad that all the American Presidents before Obama were evil.

Don't bet on this letter bringing any change in Iranian policy either.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:32 AM