Suzanne Nossel is arguing for "a blanket policy of unconditional willingness to talk directly to North Korea, Iran, and any nation that asks to meet with us face-to-face." I, of course, agree. In fact, I find the fact that I have to agree with something so obvious deliciously illustrative of the current moment's total insanity. Our willingness to enter direct talks currently offers no coherency (direct to Iran, multiparty to NK?) and confers no benefit. The smug contemptuousness the Bush administration projects when it declares itself unwilling to stand in a room and negotiate with countries it's decided to demand concessions of is our foreign policy in a nutshell -- nuts, and totally insulated from reality.
America, indeed, lacks anywhere near the moral legitimacy to take this sort of stand. Are we as bad as North Korea? Of course not. But the nation of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo is not pure enough to shun sinners. When Condoleeza Rice orates that "America will lead the cause of freedom in our world, not because we think ourselves perfect...[but] because we know ourselves to be imperfect," she's soaringly inspirational. But when her foreign policy rests on a presumption of relative perfection, it's obvious that our claims to imperfection are the worst type of boast: the huckster holy man's ostentatious pretense of humility. We are America. We can sit across the table from a monster and demand reform. At least, we could if those in charge would let us.
