Obama and Iran: And The Open Dialogue Without Preconditions Begins. Ahmadinejad Wants Apology From Obama

Barack Obama supports tough and direct diplomacy with Iran without preconditions. -- WhiteHouse.gov

Change that radical Islamic political leaders can spit on! I wish this was a joke, if might actually be funny. But it's quite serious.

Ahmadinejad asks President Obama to apologize for US anti-terror, pro-democracy efforts over the last 60 years.

The New York Times reported:

A day after President Obama struck a conciliatory tone toward Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Washington on Wednesday to apologize for its actions toward his country over the past 60 years and said it was unclear whether the new American administration was merely shifting tactics or wanted real change.

But, in a speech in the western city of Kermanshah, he did not explicitly rebuff the American president’s gesture.

“We are waiting patiently,” he said, referring to the policies of the new administration in Washington. “We will listen to the statements closely, we will carefully study their actions and if there are real changes, we will welcome it.

”Mr. Obama, in his first television interview at the White House since taking office, said that it was important to be willing to talk to the Iranians, both to express differences and to explore “where there are potential avenues for progress.”

“And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us,” Mr. Obama said in the interview with Al Arabiya television that was broadcast on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also said Tuesday that Iran had a “clear opportunity” to engage with the international community.

It didn't take too long for The President to apologize...



From The Guardian:

Officials of Barack Obama's administration have drafted a letter to Iran from the president aimed at unfreezing US-Iranian relations and opening the way for face-to-face talks, the Guardian has learned.

The US state department has been working on drafts of the letter since Obama was elected on 4 November last year. It is in reply to a lengthy letter of congratulations sent by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on 6 November.

Diplomats said Obama's letter would be a symbolic gesture to mark a change in tone from the hostile one adopted by the Bush administration, which portrayed Iran as part of an "axis of evil".

It would be intended to allay the ­suspicions of Iran's leaders and pave the way for Obama to engage them directly, a break with past policy.

Ahmadinejad denies the holocaust, and the Irani government supplies weapons to terror groups in Iraq and Palestine and is suspected of developing a nuclear weapon to help Hamas wipe Israel (and US Interests) off the face of the earth.