Yes, Gerecht and Kagan advocate talking to Iran. Not be self-referential, too, but … I did write a book called The Iranian Time Bomb, which documents in painstaking detail the fact that we have been talking to Iran virtually non-stop for nearly 30 years. This most definitely includes the Bush administration, which has used open and back channels, including dispatching former Spanish President Felipe Gonzales to Tehran on our behalf. You can judge the results for yourself.

Let’s try it again: We have been talking to Iran. We are talking to Iran right now. The proposal that we talk to Iran is neither new nor does it represent any change in American policy. There is apparently a great desire to deny the facts in this matter.

One further point: In his excellent book The Persian Puzzle, Ken Pollack spends many pages on the Clinton administration’s many talks with Iran, which failed to produce any positive results. And he concludes that the failure to achieve any breakthrough with the mullahs is not our fault. They don’t want good relations with us. They are our enemies. As Cliff says, talking will not improve this situation. They have been at war with us since 1979. Our only options are winning or losing.