Heartache: U.S. Official To Attend Iran Nuclear Talks

I'm livid over this. At what point in time, can ANYONE, whether they be from the U.S. government, the European Union, or the United Nations explain any more clear to Iran that they have to cease their building of nuclear weapon capability? What the sam hell hasn't been said a thousand times before? Iran's position hasn't changed one iota and even if the Persians decided to act like they were shifting their position - is anyone in this world willing to bet on their sincerity or that they aren't just stalling?

I don't know who the damn White House is trying to impress with this latest stab at "diplomacy" but here's the details from DEBKA:

The announcement that US Under Secretary of State William Burns will join the meeting the European Union’s Javier Solana holds with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Switzerland this week makes official the secret diplomatic track afoot between Washington and Tehran, which was first disclosed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly on June 27.
Our US sources confirm that this step distances the Bush administration still further from Israel’s policy position, which calls for the curtailment of Iran’s drive for a nuclear bomb by all means, including military action. It leaves Jerusalem alone in the arena against Iran on the nuclear and other security issues, such as Hizballah, Syria and the radicalized Lebanese government.

Now, I don't agree with DEBKA's assessment here that this is the final straw in the U.S. distancing itself from Israel on a potential strike on Iran - I think DEBKA's getting a bit emotional on this one, but it is a very disappointing development. For a U.S. State official of Burns' rank to cow to the likes of the Iranians when NOTHING has been put up in a change of attitude by the Iranians, is absurd.

Unless the mullahs have secretly crapped their pants and decided they need to change their stance, this is a bad idea in my view and prolongs both the Iranian nuke development and/or their preparations against an attack. In my view, the longer that Israel and/or the U.S. takes to hit Iran, the greater the chances for failure.

High US official to attend nuclear talks with Iran, capping secret US-Tehran diplomacy

The announcement that US Under Secretary of State William Burns will join the meeting the European Union’s Javier Solana holds with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Switzerland this week makes official the secret diplomatic track afoot between Washington and Tehran, which was first disclosed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly on June 27.
Our US sources confirm that this step distances the Bush administration still further from Israel’s policy position, which calls for the curtailment of Iran’s drive for a nuclear bomb by all means, including military action. It leaves Jerusalem alone in the arena against Iran on the nuclear and other security issues, such as Hizballah, Syria and the radicalized Lebanese government.
The Washington announcement came a day after Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama reiterated he was willing to engage Iran’s leaders in direct talks.
In its June 27 issue, DEBKA-Net-Weekly 354 reported (Secret US-Iran Talks: Bush Pulls Iran Diplomacy Carpet from under Obama) that President George W. Bush had hijacked Obama’s opening to Iran to fashion a diplomatic legacy for his successor and help John McCain get elected.
This secret dialogue had yielded deals on pricing oil up to a $150 ceiling and a helping hand from Tehran in Iraq.
Revolutionary Guards intelligence officers serving under cover in Iraq were instructed to hold back radical Shiite militias from attacking US forces and to share intelligence with the American military.
This did not stop Hizballah cells in Iraq from going for American targets. One of their operatives, trained in Iran as an explosives expert was captured in Iraq, according to a disclosure on Tuesday, July 15.
The understandings US and Iranian diplomats achieved in their undisclosed talks over several weeks were far-ranging. Our Middle East sources reveal they included Lebanese political stability under a new national government in which Iran’s surrogate, Hizballah won veto power and Syria’s violent proxy a ministerial seat; and Syrian ruler Bashar Assad’s restoration to center position on the Middle East stage with honors heaped on him by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
This new White House orientation has thrust Israel to the outer edge of its Middle East policy in favor of placing its most extreme enemies at the center. Prime minister Olmert, foreign minister Tzipi Livni and defense minister Ehud Barak find their foreign policies bankrupted.