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US-Iran talks

Successive high level contacts, unprecedented in almost three decades, failed to break the ice because the chief motive of each appeared holding the other responsible for the misfortunes that have come Iraq’s way. Now, to make serious and much needed progress, both need to sit at the table realising full well what has gone wrong and to what extent, with the sole agenda being hammering out amicable solutions, not further mud slinging.

It is true that other than Al Qaeda and its off shoots partaking in the Iraqi insurgency, most dominant militias extend sectarian allegiance to Iran. And since America’s war on terror eliminated two of Teheran’s biggest irritants on either flank — Taleban Afghanistan and Saddam’s Iraq — Iran indeed found it opportune assert its growing regional clout. Of course, it helped Teheran’s cause that whatever goes wrong in Iraq disturbs and discredits Washington, its own chief persecutor since the fall of the Shah.

The principle folly still remains America’s. Even though violence levels have registered mild downturns, there is still a lot of bloodshed on a daily basis, a constant reminder of the unfair occupation. That means innocent lives are lost every day, with no end in sight. Its own civil society in tatters, Iraqi refugees have put near unbearable burden on neighbouring countries, which now struggle to cope with the inflow.

America is right in abandoning its ‘no negotiations’ stance towards Iran. It recognises full well Teheran can still make the greatest difference in Iraq. But finding mutual compromise is going to be difficult as Washington continues to tighten its noose around Iran, especially with the threat of aggression still not removed from the equation.

Negotiations are the right way forward, but not when they entail only a series of demands. Unless America is willing to make concessions, there can be no way forward.