Friday, September 20, 2013
Message to Obama and Kerry - Don't Ruin Your Iranian Opportunity
As we watch President Obama and Secrerary of State Kerry being flim-flammed by Russian President Putin over the future of the US-Russian Syria chemical weapons deal -- the history is along the lines of : all OK / No, Russia won't agree to force against al-Assad / al-Assad agrees to join UN oganization that controls chemical weapons / Putin says maybe al-Assad won't abide by the deal. It's like shoveling smoke, and unfortunately Obama and Kerry are holding the shovels. ~~~~~ But wait. Enter the new Iranian President Rouhani with a worldwide public relations campaign worthy of Hollywood. He has sent a Rosh Hashanah greeting to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wishing the Israeli people a happy new year / responded to a congratulatory letter from Obama with comments about resuming nuclear negotiations / freed from prison an Iranian woman who is a human rights lawyer / at least for a few minutes opened up an uncensored internet to Iranians / asked if President Obama would like to chat at the New York UN General Assembly annual meeting / asked if he could help broker a Syrian peace deal. Not bad for a fella from Teheran. ~~~~~ This is not to announce the arrival of the Millennium. Russia is still arming al-Assad forces. Iran is still sending soldiers attached to the Revolutionary Guard to train al-Assad troops. Iran's nuclear enrichment program continues apace. ~~~~~ But, if Obama and Kerry and their new foreign affairs partner, Congress, can pick themselves up and shake off Putin's dust, they may actually have an opportunity to make a difference in the Middle East. There is no doubt that Rouhani is more powerful than Putin in the region because he sits at the right side of the Shiite religious leader. Iran controls to a large extent the programs of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as al-Assad. Iran is also feeling the economic pinch of severe petroleum and banking sanctions put in place by America and Europe. Iran needs to break out of this straightjacket in order to maintain internal peace and stability. Israel says it is happy that Iran is using a new vocabulary but awaits the destruction of al-Assad's chemical stockpiles. ~~~~~ Dear readers, such an opportunity vis-à-vis Iran has not presented itself since the 1979 revolution. Instead of conducting a pre-vetting process in public, as they did with the Syria chemical weapons deal, it would behoove Mssrs Obama and Kerry to be quiet - work every available diplomatic avenue - be firm in their demands and flexible in the negotiating of those demands. They might even consider talking very privately to some of America's senior diplomats - Baker, Kissinger, Rice, Bolton and Albright come to mind. Neither America nor the world needs a second failure of Middle East diplomacy. Obama and Kerry should take all the help they can get.
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They should but getting them to do it is the problem, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIn settling a problem the first thing that is necessary is Toby recognize there is a problem.
ReplyDeleteThe Obama team has to admitt to itself that:
1. They have a leadership/ respectability problem in the Middle East
2. That the Gods of Foreign Policy had just dropped their Christmas gift to the world into their (Obamas) lap.
3. They (Obama/Kerry, rtc) are not competent to handle this and go out and at least seek the advice of counsel from those that have been there.
4. Admitt that the Obama Doctrine for the Middke East is a TOTAL FAILURE.
Failing doesn't have to equate complete collapse
Chances to solve a problem are not limitless folks.
HISTORY had a way of repeating itself. And if that holds true here this golden "OPPORTUNITY" ( and that's all this is , is an opportunity - sort of like luck is nothing more that an opportunity taken advantage of) will wither and die before this administration takes action.
ReplyDeleteIf, and this is a mighty big IF President Rouhani is willing to DISCUSS MUTUAL PROBLEMS Obama & Kerry should be on the phone renting a suite of rooms at the Iranian Hilton right now.
STRIKE WHILE the iron is hot fellas. If Rouhani means this do it now. If he doesn't and it's some PR trick know that also.An opportunity missed is an opportunity lost.
If we are fooled it will be with the best of I tensions on our part
Mr. President ... The longest journey (and a solid peace in the Middle East is a long journey) is started by a single step ... Maybe that first step has just been taken. What do you have to lose - NOTHING SIR, NOTHING.
Could this all possibly be a hoax conjured up between Mr, Putin, Assad, Morsi, and the Moslim Brotherhood, and a very few other terrorists organizations to bring about a crippling policy failure for the Obama Administration in the Middle East
ReplyDeleteAfter all who would stand to gain more than Putin given all the problems that he faces in the heavily Populated Islamic "nation states" that make up what is now Russia..
Could all this Russian interest in Middle East peace and unity be nothing more than the Brotherhod conducting "blackmail" via internal peace guanentee for the Putin rule.
A stretch I know. Little more than an active imagination at work. But Putins KGB background coupled with the barbaric mentality of the Brotherhood, Assad, and Morsi -all known enemies of the West and the USA -anything could be true