WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- The United States will never be able to stabilize the Middle East unless it resurrects diplomatic ties with Iran, according to Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.
"There cannot be security (and) stability in the Middle East without Iran," Hagel said in a speech at the Cato Institute in Washington on Wednesday.
Although Iran is viewed negatively by the United States, Hagel argues that Iran has at times been very useful. "When we invaded Afghanistan we found the Iranians very helpful for two years. First sharing, gathering and exchanging intelligence," he said.
"We are good at bludgeoning people in news conferences and threatening people and warning, but that doesn't fix the problem," he said. Instead, a common denominator in interests must be found in order to engage Iran in reconciliation talks, he said.
"Iran must be dealt with. Diplomacy is not about talking to your friends. Diplomacy is about engaging your adversaries. It is about understanding that Iran's interests are different from our interests." Hagel said.
The Bush administration has lost its diplomatic touch and refuses to talk to adversaries and instead threatens them with war, Hagel said. "Maybe our two wars aren't enough, we're doing so well on both of them. Maybe we should attack North Korea and Iran too," Hagel said sarcastically. "I believe there are some in this administration who have that idea."
Hagel said it is in America's best interests to reconnect with Iran and its hostile president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, because the United States is now getting all of its information on the Shiite country from third parties, mainly Switzerland. "We're not sure what's going on in Iran, because we don't talk to Iran," he said. "We're trying to guess how Iranians are going to respond."
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Leander Schaerlaeckens, UPI Correspondent
