Russia & China End Game for Iran?

Lixy, I will read your article when I have more time.

Wasn’t Iranian president Mohammad Khatami in charge from 1997-2005? Prior to Bush taking office, and the war on Iraq, when did we aid MEK? I thought those groups were based in Iraq and allies of Saddam. Then we did not control them prior to the war.

From the Wikipedia:
After the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) camps were bombed by coalition forces because of their alliance with Saddam Hussein. On April 15th, U.S. Special Forces brokered a ceasefire agreement with the leaders of the MEK, requiring the group to surrender and disarm.[1] This was a controversial agreement both in the public sphere and privately among the Bush administration due to the MEK’s designation as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.[2]

You can blame the situation on our current president, but how come relations between the US and Iran did not improve from 1997-2001 when Clinton was still in office?

[quote]Gkhan wrote:
You can blame the situation on our current president, but how come relations between the US and Iran did not improve from 1997-2001 when Clinton was still in office?
[/quote]

Because Clinton was nowhere near as dovish as the public relations industry would have us believe. His presidency gets glowingly revised by the left the Reagan’s gets washed by the right.

[quote]lixy wrote:

The moderates in the region - and beyond - lost to the radical kooks precisely because of the belligerent attitude and inflammatory rethoric of your president. Had he not bombed and invaded Iraq, things could have been very different.

…[/quote]

True - Iran might not have aborted its nuclear program in 2003 if that were the case, and would be much further along the road to having a nuclear device:

Not that the article would note it - it is the NYT after all - but what was it that happened in 2003 that might have caused Iran to re-think its nuclear program?

I still think that long-term the Russians do not want a nuclear Iran in the region - but that makes me question what sort of intelligence the Russians might have relating to Iran’s progress in that area.

China probably doesn’t care as much, though I doubt China wants to see a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

US report plays down Iran threat

[quote]lixy wrote:
US report plays down Iran threat

BBC NEWS | Americas | US report plays down Iran threat [/quote]

This is the BBC version of the story to which I linked immediately above.