Is Iran's present Algeria's future ? [Ressource électronique]

The article discusses the American government's preemptive diplomatic contact with the Islamic Salvation Front, or Muslim fundamentalists in Algeria. Late in 1993, U.S. diplomats began discreet discussions with Anwar Haddam, the Washington, D.C-based representative of Algeria's Islamic Salvation Front, commonly known by its French initials FIS. If U.S. officials can talk to the FIS, perhaps they can improve America's reputation among fundamentalists, diminishing the chances of the United States being portrayed again as the implacable enemy of Islam, the preferred target for martyr-driven truck bombs. Towards the Algerian version, the United States argues for contact with "moderate" fundamentalists who promise a more democratic Algeria. While towards the Iranian version, the United States takes a hard-line position, arguing in favor of containment, belittling the existence of moderates and the achievements of Iran's Islamic democracy.