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National Editorial

Who even remembers Iraq? Apparently, not too many Americans. In February, more than 58 per cent of US adults polled by Pew Research Centre responded that military action could be justified to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. In a country that is staggering out of two wars, the message for US policymakers still could not have been clearer: staying tough on Iran is a foreign-policy winner.

That might explain why the White House seems intent on derailing prospects for negotiations with Iran even before the next round of talks begins, slated for Friday. As The New York Times reported at the weekend, the Obama administration will go into negotiations with Tehran demanding a set of preconditions that Iran will probably find unacceptable....