Helena Cobban, a true middle east expert who writes for the Christian Science Monitor, has recently written what must be done to extricate the U.S. from its precarious military posture in Iraq. Her answer: Iran, the U.N. and Iraq's other neighbors, in that order. I guessed previously that former Iranian president Khatami's recent visit to the U.S. was related to obtaining Iran's assistance as a stabilizing influence.

While I am not privy to the details of Khatami's visit, I still find it simply inconceivable that he would be allowed to undertake a speaking tour in the U.S. unless the administration, which routinely denies visas to even its minor foreign critics, was interested in a rapprochement.