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News that America is opening an "interest section" -- which is the first step en route to an embassy -- really does seem like a big deal. Which is not to suggest that I know what it means. But engagement of any kind is a hopeful sign, and the fact that State Department officials are emphasizing a history of engagement (saying this fits into our Olympic teams and artist exchanges and so forth) seems a huge shift in tone, and in strategy. And according to the New York Times, we have Ms. Rice to thank:
One senior European official said that Mr. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, had told a number of his counterparts in Tokyo in recent weeks that Ms. Rice was committed to moving forward on the decision to put American diplomats in Tehran, but that the decision still faced opposition from conservatives opposed to any kind of closer ties with Iran."My feeling is that the decision was more or less taken and the administration's problem was when and how to announce it," the official said. "They want to do it, but for domestic political reasons they don't know how and when, and maybe even if, they can do it."Anyway, it would be nice if this became a major news story so we could get some expert analysis, but so far, the media's been pretty quiet. Still, it's arguably the most encouraging geopolitical move America has made in, oh, eight years or so.
