END OF THE AFFAIR?:

Iranians' love affair with America: The US mustn't squander the vast majority of Iranian hearts and minds that it has already won (Ali G. Scotten, 1/19/07, CS Monitor)

After speaking with numerous Iranians from all walks of life - lower and upper class, religious and secular, Westernized and traditional, government- affiliated and civilian - I became convinced that this vilified member of the "Axis of Evil" is actually one of the most welcoming places for Americans to travel in the Middle East. Indeed, all Iranians with whom I spoke shared a positive opinion of Americans. [...]

One encounters this sentiment in even the most unexpected places. For instance, when I ran into problems renewing my visa, an austere senior official at the immigration ministry offered to help. "Because you're American, I'll do this for you," he said. This was not unusual. Generally friendly to foreigners, Iranians were especially friendly to me once they discovered I was American. It was as if they were trying to prove a point. "Go home and tell the Americans we like them," the official continued. "You know, I have family in Chicago. Can you help me go see them?" On the way out, a soldier in the lobby was excited to see my passport, handling it as one would a priceless object. "How can I come study in America?" he wanted to know.

Heck, we can figure out a way to screw that up, The Nonwar War Against Iran (Laura Rozen, Jan. 18, 2007, National Journal)

While the Iraq debate was gripping Washington over the past few weeks, the Bush administration was also shifting its policy toward neighboring Iran -- in a more confrontational direction.

U.S. officials, who asked not to be identified, say that the Iran policy has expanded from focusing chiefly on Iran's nuclear ambitions to challenging Tehran's suspected misbehavior across the Middle East. Indeed, one source said succinctly that the new policy is geared to "confront Iran in every way but direct armed conflict, using all means short of war."

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 18, 2007 9:34 PM