He goes on to write that while IAEA inspectors "have expressed frustration with Iran's level of cooperation and cited an increase in production of uranium...they have been unable to find any evidence that enriched uranium has been diverted to an illicit weapons program."
One approach to resolving the Iran nuclear issue has been suggested by former ranking American diplomat Thomas Pickering, a retired ambassador who served in Russia, Israel, Jordan and India, and who has been active in the American Iranian Council, devoted to the normalization of relations with Iran.
According to Hersh, Pickering has been involved "in secret, back-channel talks with...some of the key advisers close to Ahmadinejad" and has long sought a meeting with President Obama. Hersh quotes one of Pickering's colleagues as saying if Obama were to grant a meeting, Pickering would tell him: "Get off your no-enrichment policy, which is getting you nowhere. Stop your covert activities. Give the Iranians a sign that you're not pursuing regime change. Instead, the Iranians see continued threats, sanctions, and covert operations."
The website Politico.com reports in its May 31 issue that a senior Administration intelligence official asserted Hersh's article was nothing more than "a slanted book report." #
(Sherwood Ross is a Miami, Fla.-based public relations consultant who also writes on political and military affairs.)
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