What U.S. And Iran Need From Each Other

Le Monde takes the Obama-as-Nixon analogy from the strategic to the tactical as it considers the olive branch the President has extended to Iran:

At the end of the trip [to China in 1972], Nixon jotted down on a piece of paper the priorities needing to be addressed: 1. Taiwan-the most crucial (in reference to Chinese demands of a reduced American military presence in the region). 2. Vietnam-The most urgent.

Today is certainly a different time, but one could imagine President Obama rewriting the note as follows: 1. Security guarantees-the most crucial (for the Iranian regime, who want assurances that Washington will stop desiring their downfall). 2. Iraq, Afghanistan-the most urgent (American will in finding a solution to these two military adventures).