Hell did not freeze over

And Bush didn't collapse in a spineless heap when the U.S. and Iran held talks. Diplomacy does work:

The facility with which the US and Iran have arrived at a "broad policy agreement on Iraq" as a result of a four-hour closed meeting may have come as a minor shock to some Iran hardliners, in light of an editorial in the conservative daily Kayhan on the eve of the meeting. It predicted that "it will take a long time before the framework for the US-and-Iran dialogue becomes transparent. It is unlikely that the two sides can reach an agreement at their preliminary meeting."

But more important is the reaction of various groups, including the religio-nationalist Shi'ites of the Mahdi Army, who are increasingly turning insurgent toward the US. Their consent to any US-Iran security cooperation in Iraq is necessary. Yet it may not be forthcoming as long as the US rejects their demands for a timetable to exit Iraq.

Thus there are certain risks and "side effects" to Iran's Iraq - and regional - policy as a direct result of its dialogue with the US. That might cause disproportionate headaches both at home and in the region. Iran's politicians standing behind this new approach have their job cut out and need to show that the tangible, short- and long-term benefits outweigh the risks.

For instance, if the US releases the Iranians it has kidnapped in Iraq, then it will be an easier sell for Tehran. Yet according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Iran has not been allowed a meeting with its nationals in the United States' custody and the US has not yet allowed a family visit, either.

"If the US does not follow up with baby steps to build Iran's confidence about its intentions toward Iran, then we should not expect any meaningful progress," a Tehran political-science professor told the author. Perhaps the best course of action is to adopt an experimental, trial-and-error approach whereby mutual trust can be built gradually but firmly on concrete steps toward making the Iraqi government more stable and powerful.

After the historic meeting, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who was the sole Iraqi observer at the talks, stated that with respect to his country, there is a broad agreement between the US and Iran.

Another Iraqi official went even further by citing "goodwill, agreement and commitment" between the US and Iran. Clearly, significant ice in the frigid US-Iran environment has been broken, portending a substantive thaw.

Iraq's security is, after all, about the security of both Iran and the US, and the common threats of neo-Salafi terrorism is the chief glue that binds Tehran and Washington together. Strange bedfellows or not, the US and Iran are now on the path toward reconciliation.

Now if we could just get Bush to back off his nine warships in the Persian Gulf and Cheney to hand over those five Iranian diplomats out of his private dungeon, we might show some more goodwill and actually look like we mean it.