February 27, 2007
Iran into a little problem
Condisleezahad some harsh words for Iran
"We have the common goal to encourage Iran back to the bargaining table," Rice said after a meeting in Berlin with her counterparts from Russia, Germany and the European Union. "The hope is that the sanctions show the Iranians the isolation that they are enduring, that isolation is likely to increase over time and that it is time to take a different course."
Cheney took things a bit further
At a joint news conference with Prime Minister John Howard during a visit to Australia, Cheney said the United States was “deeply concerned” about Iran’s activities, including the “aggressive” sponsoring of terrorist group Hezbollah and inflammatory statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Cheney said top U.S. officials would meet soon with European allies to decide the next step toward planned tough sanctions against Iran if it continues enriching uranium.
“But I’ve also made the point, and the president has made the point, that all options are on the table,” he said, leaving open the possibility of military action.
Then the Iranian Foreign Minister called Cheney's bluff
“We do not see America in a position to impose another crisis on its taxpayers inside America by starting another war in the region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters Saturday.
And, of course, he's right. Which leaves us only able to fight Iran with patience, which is what all of us have been saying all along. Russia, like the vast majority of Americans, is sick of our unilateralism.
In any relationship, disagreements arise. But observers make a grave error when they mistake the honest and open airing of concerns as some sort of casus belli. President Bush rightly emphasized the other day that, while differences exist between our two countries, "there's also a relationship in which we can find common ground to solve problems." Russia is ready to work with the United States on an equal and mutually respectful basis.Another Cold War? Certainly not. A democratic world in which a strong Russia coexists with a strong United States, as well as a strong Europe, China, India, Brazil and others? That is Vladimir Putin's vision -- and it is well worth considering.
The problems we all face are OUR problems and we have to work together to solve them. Just as we were able to tget the North Korean's to return to the table, so too can we obtain an agreement with Iran that provides for non-proliferation. It's really our only choice.
Posted by mcblogger at February 27, 2007 11:46 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.mcblogger.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/1646
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
