Prior elections in Iran all analysts predicted that some radicals are going to win, but Iranians chose most liberal one, because they were frustrated from sanctions. This shows that sanctions were very effective. There was no reason to rush (except that western companies wanted to make business with Iran). 5-10 years more and mullahs would bend.
As for Assad. Does any sane person believe that he will ever rule the entire Syria again? - Of course not. So why keep him?
Why is it so difficult for you to understand a very simple concept. I'm not talking about the effectiveness of sanctions or not. I'm not talking about elections. I'm not talking about conservatives or liberals. That is all besides the point.
I'm saying an extremely simple thing. I'm trying to make only one point, and that is about
Pre-conditions set as a condition for talks
Do pre-conditions work in diplomatic talks or not? My argument is pre-conditions do not work, because they do not allow talks to start.
That's all I am talking about. Why do most people like confusing the topic. To be able to communicate well, one has to remove all unnecessary fat to be able to get at the meat of the matter.
I'll repeat it very simply. Please do not rush into replying.
1) Pre-conditions generally prevent diplomatic talks
2) What does pre-conditions mean? It means setting a condition that needs to be met by the other party before the talks can start. Usually, such pre-conditions prevent the talks from even starting so it is counterintuitive.
Let me clarify this using a non-political example. Two farmers are farming & living in the same land and they are always fighting over it. A third party comes and tells them, "Why don't you two talk it over?". First farmer agrees, but second farmer puts a pre-condition for talks. The pre-condition is "The first farmer has to leave the land, take all his goods, and promise not to come back, and then I agree to talks". This pre-condition will then prevent the talks from starting.
3) Using the Bush example easily highlights this. Bush pre-condition was,
(a) Stop enrichment and then we will talk
(b) As this was the whole point of talks, Iran did not agree to stop enrichment and THEN talk
(c) Therefore, Bush' pre-condition was an obstacle to diplomatic talks
(d) Therefore, preconditions are usually undiplomatic and should be discouraged
This is such a simple concept. But you probably will respond with something like, "Oh yeah?! Well barrel bomb killer ayatollah peace democracy Assad mullahs the people!!"