Should We Cozy Up To Iran?

Faye Bowers of the Christian Science Monitor is asking if it is time for a thaw in US-Iranian relations. I emphatically say "no."

So the Iranians have a few members of Al Qaida. So they might even be willing to turn them over - in return for concessions on our part. What ever happened to the notion that we don't negotiate with terrorists?

If Iran is truly willing to talk about turning these folks over, it is not because of some change of heart regarding terrorism; it's not because the regime wants truly normalized relations with the US. It's because of the pressures that our mounting on the regime, from within and without. Turning over the Al Qaida members removes one of the internal pressures (although it would be replaced with a milder version in the form of angry Al Qaida sympathizers) while also mitigating one of the main external pressures - the US insistence that Iran cooperate in the War on Terror. It would buy the regime time to crackdown on the internal dissidents, so that they can better focus on the external threats.

Iran really isn't showing any signs of changing their ways. They are now admitting to non-compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and there are still calls to withdraw from the NPT considering it to be an affront to their national sovereignty.

The Iranian regime is still not interested in playing nice with the rest of the world. Currently, they're playing a propaganda game, trying to split the West along the pacifist/non-pacifist fault line. Why would such an oil-rich country want to develop nuclear power - unless they had ulterior motives? The Iranian nuclear program is not peaceful in nature and the fact that they have been sloppy with "lab testing" while knowing that Al Qaida is running around in-country is beyond irresponsible.

Yeah, Iran wants to cuddle in front of the fire with us, but it's a bonfire and they plan to try to burn us, again.

This is not the time for a thaw in relations. To the contrary, it's time to cool them of some more.