An Irresistible Reprise

In light of stories like this one, I can’t resist reprising part of an Edgewise post from 11/9/06. Of course, it’s still just a start, and this week’s zig can be next week’s zag.
First, the current story:
The White House Gets Neighborly in the Middle East, WP, 2/28/07
“On Jan. 11,…Rice…explain[ed] why ‘those who talk about engagement with Syria and Iran’ are all wet. ‘That’s not diplomacy — that’s extortion,…’
“When the Iraq Study Group ..proposed talking with Iran and Syria…the administration summarily dismissed the idea…
“Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn)…wondered why the administration was only now ‘backing into some consistency with the Iraq Study Group.’ Replied Gates: ‘I don’t know the answer to that question.”
And from Edgewise, 9/9/06
Bush–at least the Bush we know–may find he is a President out of the loop. He shot down every Baker initiative in advance. But Baker is acting on behalf of the broad Bush-appalled military, foreign policy, and corporate establishment. He smiled and waited, but the rangy little president is in for a surprise.
The WP article