About-Face

Another indication that Washington is reconsidering the wisdom of its don’t-talk-to-your-enemies policy:

For the second time this week, a senior American official will meet with representatives of a Middle Eastern country that the US has sought to isolate diplomatically. David Welch, US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is set to speak with Riad Daoudi, the Syrian Foreign Ministry’s legal counselor and lead Syrian negotiator for the ongoing indirect talks with Israel, as well as fellow Syrian advisers and analysts during their visit here this week. The meeting comes on the heels of a trip by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, the third-highest US diplomat, to attend an international meeting with Iranian and other officials over Teheran’s nuclear program Saturday, a major change for an administration that had until recently ruled out such contacts. (Jerusalem Post)