@markx15,
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There may be some progress in the Iraq and Afghan wars after the US-Iranian talks yesterday, first in 28 years. If you've ever dealt with the US Deptartment of State employees, you too will find it hard to believe that they would lower themselves to diplomacy or negotiations, especially with "Third World" leaders, whom they refer to as "monkeys."
The real question is at what price will the Iranians be willing to give up all of the following:
1. Stop meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan, risk the US stabilize the 2 countries and then attack Iran,
2. Stop it's nuclear objectives, and
3. Stop it's oil exchange (which began in March 2006) which allows for the export of energy in euros.
If I'm asked to guess which is the most dangerous for the US, I will have to pick # 3, which far exceeds Saddam's cardinal sin of converting Iraq's currency reserves to euros in 1999 and asking euros for oil beginning 2000.