Amidst the din of commentators calling for Obama to get tough with Iran, one unexpected voice is calling for the U.S. to push forward with negotiations. Canadian-Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari was recently released from Tehran's infamous Evin prison where were he was held and tortured by the Revolutionary Guard for 118 days. In one of his first articles after the ordeal, Bahari argues that now is the time to double-down on negotiations, not give up:

In Iran's triangle of power -- the Guards, Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- the Guards are becoming stronger than the president and the supreme leader. Some Guards are devoted to Khamenei for religious reasons, but many of them use his status as a religious leader to legitimize their own actions. They also use Ahmadinejad, a former Guard, to increase their political power. The Guards have arms and money. They are the biggest industrial contractors in Iran. They have front companies all over the region and in the West and are involved in smuggling goods into and out of Iran. They answer only to Khamenei.

So can the West, especially the United States, have a dialogue with these people? Yes. Because there is no other choice. The West has to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear program and the stability of Iraq and Afghanistan. Not talking to Tehran doesn't work: The hostile rhetoric and actions of the Bush administration against even the reformist government of Mohammad Khatami helped the hard-liners to consolidate power. Only by engaging, even with a more radical regime, can the West force Tehran to measure the costs and benefits of dealing with the outside world.

I'm not sure if I agree with everything Bahari says, but his views are certainly compelling.