Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush offering "new ways" to resolve the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program, while brushed off by the White House, has achieved one clear result: more positive press coverage than he has ever gotten.

With Western powers unable to reach agreement about a United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran's nuclear program, online commentators says Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter promotes the idea that Iran is open to compromise at a time when the rest of the world is divided.

The letter, the first written communication between the leaders of the two countries in 27 years, criticizes Bush for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, detainee abuse in U.S.-run facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, and for his support of Israel.

• Web version of Iran letter (HTML)
• Downloadable version of Iran letter (MS-Word)