US Official: Top American Diplomat to Attend Talks With Iran. Appeasement?

A senior U.S. official says the United States will send a top diplomat to participate in talks with Iran about Tehran's nuclear program at a meeting Saturday in Geneva.

In a shift in long-standing policy, the official said Undersecretary of State William Burns will join a meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

The U.S has previously refused to attend any talks with Tehran on its nuclear program until it stops enriching uranium.

The American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stressed that Burns will not negotiate during his visit and will not hold separate meetings with the Iranians.

He said Burns will reiterate the Bush administration's position that Iran must suspend uranium enrichment before the United States can enter into serious negotiations with the country.

Earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the meeting in Geneva will focus on what he called "common points" of the proposals made by six world powers and Iran to settle the nuclear dispute.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also said talks with the United States on Iran's nuclear program are possible in the near future.


link: http://voanews.com/english/2008-07-16-voa6.cfm

This could be the Chimp's "Look, we tried diplomacy" ploy. On to WWIII.

See it is not appeasement if the President does not talk to the Iranians. In addition, the diplomat that will be going to Iran will not be negotiating, but just listening. Therefore, it is only appeasement if the President goes and the American representative does more than just listen. :sarcasm:

That is what the Bush Administration and the Republicans are using to give cover to President Bush. I think Bush finally realized, with the North Korea issue, that negotiations actually work and now he is trying to save his legacy in any way that he can. The only problem is that he does not want to say that Bill Clinton and the Democrats have been right for the last seven plus years.