Obama's Doublespeak on Iran (Extending Hands or Clenching Fists?)

[Jefferson23]

June 9, 2010


On April 12, 2010, President Barack Obama hosted a forty-seven nation Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. He met with dozens of heads of state making his case for a fourth set of crippling sanctions on Iran because of its intransigence on the nuclear issue. His main argument was the refusal of Iran to accept the proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of transferring the bulk of Iran’s low enriched uranium outside the country in exchange for medical nuclear isotopes.

The following day Obama met with President Luiz Lula Da Silva of Brazil and Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan of Turkey. Both countries are currently members of the UN Security Council, considered friends of the US and are emerging economic and regional powers.

Lula and Erdogan emphasized to the US president the importance of a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s nuclear issue in an effort to diffuse the crisis and build confidence-building measures for further negotiations. During the meeting Obama not only encouraged them to pursue a diplomatic breakthrough, but he also vowed to be constructive and flexible, as well as promising to send them in writing the parameters of any deal deemed acceptable to the US.

Encouraged by the American response, the Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davuto?lu flew to Brazil on April 16 to meet with its president in order to coordinate their diplomatic efforts in a last ditch effort to persuade Iran to accept the IAEA proposal. By April 20, the Turkish foreign minister was in Tehran testing the waters regarding a possible resolution to the crisis.

remainder in full: http://www.counterpunch.com/amin06092010.html

[burnsei sensei]

1. Doublespeak is the best you can expect

from a liberal of Obama's cast.
He'll never get beyond it because he does not confront his political and diplomatic adversaries in any direct sense.

[Jefferson23]

2. Yea, but this goes beyond that imo. Did Obama gamble that

Brazil and Turkey would never get Iran to agree to the terms as outlined, or what? Obama lost credibility here, very much so.



* on edit for spelling.

[Daveparts still]

3. Obama

Is not a liberal in any sense of the word. Obama is a centerist Democrat but since the center has shifted over the past thirty years Obama is best described as a Reagan Republican. If he ran for office against Richard Nixon Obama would be the Republican!