Why Can't We Be Friends?

Violence in Iraq is on the rise and President Bush's approval rating is on a steady decline. After 4 years fighting in Iraq, the administration has decided to use diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors.

It has been 27 years since the United States held talks with Iran. On May 29th, Memorial Day, the silence was broken. Ambassadors from the US, Iran, and Iraq met in Baghdad to discuss the future of security in the region.

Ryan Crocker is the US ambassador to Iraq. "I laid out before the Iranians a number of our direct specific concerns about their behavior in Iraq," Crocker said. "Their support for militias that are fighting both the Iraqi security forces and coalition forces; the fact that a lot of the explosives and ammunition that are used by these groups are coming in from Iran; that such activities led by the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] Quds Force needed to cease and that we would be looking for results," he said at a press conference. Crocker went on to say the that there isn't much to argue about.

The Iranian Ambassador to Iraq is Hassan Kazemi Qomi. He said that Iran is ready and willing to help train and equip Iraqi police and the Iraqi Army. Qomi told the AP the three nations will meet again next month.

My Opinion: President Bush may have come to the realization that things in Iraq aren't going to get better without diplomacy. I'm surprised, but pleased he decided to approve these talks. He has called Iran a part of the "Axis of Evil" and refused to talk to this nation.

Its about time the US has decided to use diplomacy. If it were used a little more in 2003, I wonder if we'd be in this mess at all. Sadly, I think we probably would be.

One thing I find interesting is that the two nations appear to be on the same page regarding Iraq. But neither seem to trust the other. We think they're building nuclear weapons, and they think we're going to blow them off the map at any moment.

The US and Iran need to put their differences aside for stability in the Middle East and security in Iraq.

Why can't we be friends?