We know that Barack Obama has, in the past, declared his willingness to meet with the leaders of Iran without precondition.

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In the spirit of that type of bold leadership, would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?

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Under the circumstances, however, Mr. Bush had no choice but to eschew Secretary Powell's campaign to euchre Sharon into abandoning his precondition that there be at least seven days without violence before committing to a renewed cease-fire with the Palestinians.

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Under the new plan America will transfer some troops to Guam without waiting for progress on relocating the Futenma base on Okinawa, which had been a precondition for the transfer.

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