Opening Iran

Christopher Hitchens has a fantastic piece in Slate discussing what should be done in Iran. His solution: Open Iran. Engage the country, as we are doing with China, and use our ideational and commerical leverage to steer the country in a better, more peaceful and democratic direction. While I don't share Hitchens' wild-eyed optimism on this issue, I'm not so sure he's wrong either. There aren't very many good options to the Iranian nuclear program, as Hitchens does and I have pointed out. And if this strategy is deemed sufficient for dealing with China, why should Iran be different? Engage them...trade with them...let our ideas, information, and values seep into the country. That is the best way to deal with the problem.