Bush's security adviser: Iranian overtures a ploy

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President George W. Bush's top foreign policy adviser said Friday that Iran's new willingness to talk about Iraq with the United States probably is a ploy to "divert pressure and divert attention" from growing international suspicion that Teheran wants a nuclear bomb. The Bush administration views Teheran's acceptance of an American offer to talk about Iraq, made months ago, as an indication that Iran is feeling the international heat, said National Security Adviser Steven Hadley. "What is interesting is that the Iranians would choose now, at this moment, in such a very public way, to embrace this idea and try to expand it to a negotiation about a broader set of issues," Hadley said.