Tuesday, March 03, 2009
We'll have to get back to you on Iran...
Per today’s washingtonpost.com:
“President Obama has sent a letter to his Russian counterpart that raises the prospect of the United States halting development of its missile defense program in Eastern Europe if Russia helps resolve the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, senior administration officials said last night….Obama's letter, delivered to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in mid-February…”
Mid-February? Then I have to believe he mentioned this to his Secretary of State so what do we take from this?
From today’s Washington Post:
“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday [March 2nd] expressed doubts in a private meeting with an Arab counterpart that the Obama administration's outreach to Iran would be successful.” Clinton Pessimistic on Iran Outreach
I suppose one could argue that the overture to Russia reflects administration pessimism for success with its own dealings with Iran. But to me it sounds like Secretary Clinton just ain’t buying the Obama Charm working its magic on the Iranians – even with a Russian sidekick.
Side Note: The Clinton article was written by Glenn Kessler and it led me to wonder how he might have covered pre-WW II Europe:
“European allies have become increasingly alarmed by Germany’s growing regional power during the FDR years, helped by the Kennedy family invasion of England, its one-time rival, and the growing strength of German-allies such as Japan and Italy.”
Instead, as noted previously, he covers the Mideast. This time he dutifully lays out why the Iranian problem is – wait for it – President Bush’s fault:
“Persian Gulf allies have become increasingly alarmed by Tehran's growing regional power during the Bush years, helped by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, its one-time rival, and the growing strength of Iranian-backed movements such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Yeah - if only President Bush had listened to our Persan Gulf allies and dealt aggressively with Iran while encouraging Israel to deal forcefully with both Hezbollah and Hamas.
“President Obama has sent a letter to his Russian counterpart that raises the prospect of the United States halting development of its missile defense program in Eastern Europe if Russia helps resolve the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, senior administration officials said last night….Obama's letter, delivered to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in mid-February…”
Mid-February? Then I have to believe he mentioned this to his Secretary of State so what do we take from this?
From today’s Washington Post:
“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday [March 2nd] expressed doubts in a private meeting with an Arab counterpart that the Obama administration's outreach to Iran would be successful.” Clinton Pessimistic on Iran Outreach
I suppose one could argue that the overture to Russia reflects administration pessimism for success with its own dealings with Iran. But to me it sounds like Secretary Clinton just ain’t buying the Obama Charm working its magic on the Iranians – even with a Russian sidekick.
Side Note: The Clinton article was written by Glenn Kessler and it led me to wonder how he might have covered pre-WW II Europe:
“European allies have become increasingly alarmed by Germany’s growing regional power during the FDR years, helped by the Kennedy family invasion of England, its one-time rival, and the growing strength of German-allies such as Japan and Italy.”
Instead, as noted previously, he covers the Mideast. This time he dutifully lays out why the Iranian problem is – wait for it – President Bush’s fault:
“Persian Gulf allies have become increasingly alarmed by Tehran's growing regional power during the Bush years, helped by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, its one-time rival, and the growing strength of Iranian-backed movements such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Yeah - if only President Bush had listened to our Persan Gulf allies and dealt aggressively with Iran while encouraging Israel to deal forcefully with both Hezbollah and Hamas.
