Phew. Americans can thank goodness for that. If there's one thing we want to be with the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, it's polite. Maybe Rice could politely inscribe the terrorism report to the Iranian foreign minister. Maybe he could politely inscribe it back to her. I can see it now, that old Iranian proverb: "Dear Condi -- Never give a sucker an even break."
Enough sarcasm. No amount of metaphorical acid dropped on this sorry event can cover up either the futility or the shame of negotiations with the jihadist state of Iran and its fellow state sponsor of jihadist terrorism, Syria. And such negotiations, whether via "bumping into," or "on the sidelines," were exactly what the breathless run-up to the Egyptian conference was all about. "That meeting," explained Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, "will be important because Secretary Rice will be seated around a table with the Syrian foreign minister, and we hope and think with the Iranian foreign minister."
Yuck. Since when does an Iranian foreign minister, let alone a Syrian foreign minister, count as the belle of the ball? There's something unseemly about this diplomatic courtship, which follows not a single concession on Iranian and Syrian support for Hezbollah and assorted Palestinian terror groups, their deadly interference in Iraq, or their failure to corral Al Qaeda operatives. In the case of Iran, this all-too-hot political pursuit rages on despite its flouting international rules governing its nuclear program, and its barbaric call for the genocidal eradication of the state of Israel.
But there's something else. American soldiers now die and are maimed because of such belligerence. Not so very long ago, Beirut CIA station chief William Buckley, Navy diver Robert Stethem, and Marine Col. William Higgins all fell to Iranian-sponsored, Hezbollah terrorism, suffering horrendous beatings and torture before they died, unavenged.
When will it occur to our leaders that Iran is already in a state of war with us? Surely, that's nothing to be "polite" about.