Would it be too much to describe the State's response to Ahmadinejad's "jump"...

Just testing the waters, checking to see how low The One will stoop to fulfill his campaign promise of getting to the negotiating table with Iran, where absolutely nothing will be resolved. Doubtless there'll be some support for this on the American left, too. If a groveling apology to a terrorist Holocaust denier who spent the last six years funneling weapons to Iraqis to kill Americans furthers the cause of "dialogue," why not suck it up?

... as a servile inquiry about how high he'd like to see them leap?

The Obama administration is preparing a letter to Iran intended to warm relations and pave the way for direct talks between Washington and Teheran, The Guardian reported Thursday. Work on the document reportedly began immediately following the November election, upon receipt of a letter of congratulations sent to the elected president by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... The letter would either be sent to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or released as an open letter. It is being considered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of a general review of Washington's policy on Iran.

But at least the Islamic Republic has been showing absolutely zero willingness to reconsider their nuke development. And at least the months and months of lukewarm rapprochement efforts won't box in Israel diplomatically, letting Iran build a bomb.

I wonder how much longer Stuart Levey is going to survive at Treasury - where even the NYT says he's critical to the sticks part of Obama's Iran strategy - if he keeps making clear that of course Iran and Al Qaeda cooperate.

References:
* Ahmadinejad to Obama: Apologize [Hot Air]
* 'US drafts conciliatory letter to Iran' [JPost]
* Iran rejects US call to halt nuke work [JPost]
* ANALYSIS / Obama plan to negotiate buys Iran time to complete nuclear program [Ha'aretz]
* Stuart Levy's War - The Sanctions That Could Coax Iran [NYT]
* The Iran-al-Qaeda Conundrum [Levitt and Jacobson]

Previously:
* Concise List Of Middle East Failures That Were Going To Happen Anyway But That Foreign Policy Experts Will Now Blame On Israel
* Iranian Mullahs Wringing Their Hands As IDF Dismantles Hamas's Army (Plus: NPR Wonders About "Real Connection" Between Iran And Hamas)
* Obama: Yup, I'm Going To Immediately Reach Out To Iran And Syria