For Karen Hughes to succeed in her current assignment, she has to convince Secretary of State Rice and President Bush to abandon their "Kindergarten playground diplomacy." America should stop the "I will not talk to you" attitude that has been the hallmark of this administration. We did not want to talk to the Europeans (prior to the Iraq war), would not talk to Arfat, shall not talk to Hamas or the leader of North Korea and now the Iranians.

Ms. Rice and Mr. Bush may think that the Iranian letter is politically motivated and it could well be. They may even think that it is the rambling of a deluded person, and it is, to a great extent. Yet what the Iranian President exposed in his letter to the US President reflects some sentiments in the US and will evoke a lot of sympathy in the Muslim world. The only sensible thing to do is to engage in direct talks between the US and Iran NOW.

In the words of one of Mr. Bush's heroes "jaw jaw not war war"