For the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, an Iranian leader gave positive remarks to the President-elect. According to a Nov. 6 Fox News article, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated Obama on receiving a majority of voters.

In CNN article from May 26, Fidel Castro even said Obama was “the most advanced candidate in the presidential race.”

These comments, along with Obama saying he would meet leaders of enemy nations without preconditions, produced criticism for the Democratic candidate during his campaign. Talking to our enemies may be a good idea.

“These nations have broken international rules and look forward to talking to anyone,” said Daniel R. Kempton, political science professor with an emphasis in international relations. “The underlying problems still exist the importance of such talks may be overstated.”

Kempton went on to say our government and the European governments know Iran is still pursuing nuclear weapons. Whether we have negotiations with these countries, we are still going to pursue our ideals and they will do the same.

Still, when any leader of a country finds some decency in our president, we should find optimism in that. The actions of enemy nations are not always justified and our ideals may not always agree. But this could indicate that they could, at some point, be willing to work with us. Of course predicting the reactions or results of negotiations between leaders is impossible. But without open-minded talks taking place first, no compromise will be found.

Cooperation is possible and the global gossip can stop. Consider World War II when all of Europe was fighting. As time went on and through years of diplomacy, Europe formed the European Union.

Obviously a couple encouraging remarks alone won’t solve anything. They are, however, a start toward constructive relationships.

Our policy of open trade with China strongly contrasts with our 50-year-old sanctions against communist Cuba.

Obviously our foreign policy has undergone some development over time and it has been beneficial. Diplomacy should always be a first step until the breaking point of necessary aggressive action. We have seen the various casualties of war, and if no aggressive action is needed, we shouldn’t be aggressors.