Robert Gates tells us that he isn’t going to allow the absence of any positive reaction — or historical experience — to stand in the way of the administration’s engagement policy with Iran. This report explains:

Visiting Egypt, Gates said some of Iran’s statements in response to the administration of President Barack Obama had “not been very encouraging.” But he added: “We’re not willing to pull the hand back yet because we think there’s still some opportunity.” Obama’s efforts to engage with Tehran mark a break with the policy of his predecessor George W. Bush, who once labelled Iran as part of an “axis of evil.” But Gates said any dialogue would likely develop slowly, if it happened at all. He also sounded a note of caution about the prospects of a positive response from Iran. “I’ve been around long enough to see these efforts attempted before, and with no result,” said Gates, a former CIA director who has worked on U.S. national security issues since the 1960s.

Bill Clinton liked to observe that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. In fact, he claimed the phrase came from a book his wife Hillary gave him. She might want to pull it out about now.