With due regard for Mr. Ritter's expertise, pia, I would point you to
Juan Cole's discussion of the same event for a radically different point of view from someone else whom nevertheless many of us believe knows what
he is talking about. Remember please that Mr. Ritter has a serious axe to grind, since his credibility was essentially smashed by the Administration over the WMD issue, and he has been belly-aching about it ever since.
His terse dismissal of the Bush turnaround ("of course the Geneva talks produced nothing") simply ignores the reality on the ground: Mr. Burns was sent with instructions to make no concession or offers. It is the fact that he was
there that signaled a change in Administration policy, as Professor Cole points out. In the diplomatic world, change is incremental.
