Naivety

1. "Clinton Not Optimistic About Iran-U.S. Thaw"; By Mark Landler; A6
   
2. "Letters: Iran’s View on Uranium"; A26
   

In certain respects, the Obama administration is less naive than its detractors thought it would be. As Mark Landler reports, "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an Arab foreign minister on Monday that she did not expect Iran to respond positively to an American offer of direct negotiations."

Still, with respect to the Palestinians, the feared naivete is apparent, as "the United States pledged more than $900 million in aid to the Palestinians, $300 million of which is relief for Gaza." Because Hamas is in full control of the Gaza Strip, the money will most likely bolster its standing. 

In a requisite critique of Jewish communities in the administered territories on the Jordan River's west bank, Landler reports, "The Palestinians hope to build their state on that land and argue that settlement building drives that goal further and further away." 

Two points, however, remain unaddressed:

First, how do Jewish communities on territory that could be a Palestinian state prevent the state from coming into being? In other words, why can't a Palestinian state allow Jewish residents to remain where thy are. 

Second, how does Landler's presentation of Palestinian hopes reconcile with the broad support that Hamas enjoys among Palestinians and Hamas' explicit demand for all the land of Israel, not just part of it.  

In a letter to the editor, M. A. Mohammadi, Press Counselor for the Mission of Iran to the United Nations, depicts Iran as compliant party in its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). See William H. Tobey's piece in The Boston Globe for a more reasonable, accurate description of the Iran-IAEA relationship.