This is the moment, or Condoleeza Rice for President '08

This could be the moment that everything changes.

The US has stated that if Iran agrees to halt Uranium enrichment they're ready to enter talks.

Condoleeza Rice has made the ouverture.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5034228.stm

At this point, in what I must confess I find to be an astoundingly and atypically reasonable proposal of diplomacy.

At this point, not only is war with Iran avoidable, It is now up to Iran to avoid this war
I truly did not expect this gesture from the United States' government It surprises me and gives me hope.

It gives me hope because for the first time since before Clinton, Bush Sr., or Reagen, it is entirely possible that cooler heads will prevail in America's Middle East foreign policy.
Is Israel ready to extend the same olive branch?

Most importantly, is IRAN?

I pray that they do...but I suspect they won't. Especially considering that only yesterday, ahead of this announcement by the 'States, Iran precluded nuclear talks with them, instead making an ouverture to the EU.

The question is, then, is this just a cynical attempt by the Bush Administration to curry public support of their planned invasion? Because the pundits and talking heads of the Media WILL seize this as a means of saying "See? Iran really isn't being reasonable!" should Iran refuse. If the 'States pull out of Iraq for Iran, they'll have a more popular war to fight.

With a more "acceptable" war, the United States would have three nations in the Middle East under its direct, if albeit tenuous, control. The disintegrating situation in Iran could alter drastically when the two countries' fundamentalistic Muslim governments combine. Iran is, after all, a strong vocal supporter of the Iraqi parliament.

The result would be all-out war in the Middle East. After prolonged carnage with "Collateral" carnage in the West and especially the United States by terrorist cells.

After this prolonged and universally destructive war, a new Persian state would emerge. Either it would carve up the Afghanistan-Iraq-Iran delta into loosely affiliated theocratic provinces, or the power would be centralized in an American Colonial Persia, composed of the former Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, controlled or administered by an American governor.

But what if the war is avoided? What if talks to begin, and what if those talks succeed? Only Nixon could go to China. Can only Rice go to Iran? Because as Secretary of State, Rice is the only person levelheaded enough in Bush's power sphere to dream up this offer, and the most likely person to go to direct talks with Iran; a woman in power, an automatic, historical symbol of The West Versus The East. Likewise, as Secretary of State, it would essentially be her prerogative to go.

Is she already being groomed to replace Cheney as Vice President? Is she already being prepared for the 2008 election?

To be honest, I do believe this to be the case. Unless some charismatic straight-shooter comes out as a Democratic Party candidate, a Hip, Young, New Charmer - think the Kennedy-Nixon debates, or Slick Willie playing sax on Arsenio Hall - the best that the Dems will have to offer in a desperate Hail Mary play to beat Presidential Hopeful Condoleeza Rice would be Bernie Sanders with Hillary as his running mate.

I think a Sanders/Rodham-Clinton ticket would look more like Mondale/Ferraro than it would Bill and Al. But a Rice/McCain - or dare I dream and say a Rice/Powell ticket would be the ticket to ride.

Rice is more of a moderate Republican on domestic issues, though she is a hawk when it comes to foreign policy. This would be good for America during a post-2008 America, where the War in the Middle-East is sure to still be ongoing. She'd protect America's interests abroad by staying the course and hopefully listening to her military advisers on how to do it, while very firmly defending America's diplomatic and commercial issues with the emerging from the fledgling economic Superpower of the European Union; ten more years and it will probably be the European Republic.

Meanwhile Rice's Africa policy would probably be the most beefed-up in decades. Not only because she (and hopefully her ex-military Veep) is Black, but because of the Public's perception of this first Black President of the United States would be shaped by the still-influential (In other words everybody but Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton) Black Community leaders and their inevitable very public demands for action on Africa.

This would present Rice with an historic opportunity to expand the current definition of "Terrorism" to include the atrocities engineered by some of the barbaric governments and juntas that prowl the Dark Continent.

Nevermind bringing decency and honour back to the White house; President Condoleeza Rice could bring decency and honour back to the Republican Party, heralding back before Nixon first soiled it with corruption and crime.