Hello! Hello! Anyone There?

This has not been a good week for the State Department. For a place known as the best of the best staffed by the brightest of the brightest, you have to wonder if anyone is really home. After several years of pushing Syria out of Lebanese politics by fostering a democratic process, the Syrian-Iranian proxy, Hizbullah, now controls the country. For this, Condi stopped the war? Has the murderer-for-bodies deterred Hizbullah from their war making? Not at all. Hizbullah number 2 is calling for more kidnappings.

This is far from the biggest head scratcher. Not only is the State Department prepared to offer more US hostages for the Iranians to kidnap, but Iran was invited to sit down with the US and buddies to "talk through" their differences. Somehow, in some form of Group Think, it was decided that Iran would listen to reason and just give up building its nuclear weapons and abandon its intent to destroy Israel.

The presence of America’s third-ranking diplomat William Burns elevated the talks between the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany and Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili begun in Geneva Saturday, July 19 to a more serious level. Ahead of the meeting, a senior official in Tehran restated that suspension was “out of the question.”

While Washington has stressed Burns is there to listen, not negotiate, DEBKAfile’s sources reported it will be clear to Iran that it has a chance to end its international isolation by accepting the incentives on offer to freeze uranium enrichment. This outcome would leave Israel out on a limb with the menaces posed directly by Iran and its allies, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas.

European Union executive Javier Solana, who staged the encounter, positioned the American official opposite the Iranian side to avoid a joint photograph.

How nice that Solana wants to avoid giving Iran a photo op (as if being invited to Geneva isn't enough). So, Burns shows up to begin the process of mediation. What happens?

The presence of Burns had led to hopes of compromise on a formula under which Iran would agree to stop expanding its enrichment activities.

In exchange, six powers — the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany — would hold off on passing new U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

But doubt was cast over the value of talks less then an hour after they started, when Keyvan Imani, a member of the Iranian delegation,appeared to indicate that Tehran was not prepared to budge on enrichment.

"Suspension — there is no chance for that," he told reporters gathered in the courtyard of Geneva's ornate City Hall, the venue of the negotiations.

There also appeared to be little progress inside the talks.

Well, Dah! Is anyone awake in Foggy Bottom? What part of "we ain't stopping" is not understood?

Iran subscribes to the WADI school of nuclear power--We Are Dropping It. On the other hand, the Mullahs could really be Branch Dravidians in disguise using the WACO principle--We Ain't Coming Out.

Well, it least it only took US and European officials an hour to figure out what Iran meant. Jimmy Carter is still clueless after 30 years.