Sen. Lindsey Graham: "Talking with Iran is a form of appeasement."

[sabra]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,379622,00.html

<snip>

GRAHAM: Yes, well, talk does not matter to Iran. They will — they will respond to action.

And I do not want a military engagement with Iran. It would be a very difficult task for us, the world at large. But talking is not going to work. What we need to do is impose sanctions that will. They depend on gasoline. The Western world, the world as a whole, with China and Russia, can change Iranian behavior if we will act. Talking will embolden these people. Acting will deter them.

ASMAN: You know, we just had to release of hostages in Venezuela. And we had been in this conversation, this almost endless conversation. Hugo Chavez got in the middle of it. We were told time and again we have to converse, we have to sit down with these rebels. The sitting down obviously did nothing but empower the rebels and Hugo Chavez at the same time.

Is there a similarity here in these situations?

GRAHAM: Yes, the Colombian president took matters in his own hands. They came up with a military strategy that was marvelous. It will go down in military history.

We sat down with Hitler, and it never worked with Hitler. Give him one more country. Appease this guy.

Talking with Iran is a form of appeasement. We need world action, not just United States action, not just Israeli action, but the world needs to rally around the idea that we're not going to let Iran get a nuclear weapon.

:eyes:

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/07/04/afx5184293.html

FARC leaders were paid millions to free hostages: Swiss radio

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday, quoting 'a reliable source'.

The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army 'were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up,' the radio's French-language channel said.

Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some $20 million.

The radio said its source was 'close to the events, reliable and tested many times in recent years.'

[Muttocracy]

1. so BushCo have appeased Libya, North Korea....

[dkf]

2. I guess the only way you don't appease these countries is to bomb them into oblivion.

That is just great.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Jackpine: Listening to Lindsay Graham is a form of self-abuse.

And not even a fun form.

[sharp_stick]

4. I would have thought Graham

would at least be a bit better informed than that RW gasbag Kevin James, perhaps the Hon. Senator should have a go-round with Tweety to figure out what appeasment means.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. All options are on the table . . .

except diplomacy.

[tularetom]

6. Betcha somebody's already talking to Iran without us knowing about it

Trying to determine how much we have to pay them to suspend their nukular program.

It's how we got the insurgents in Iraq to calm down - we paid them.

Now we find out it's how the hostages in Colombia got freed - we paid the rebels to let them go.

It's how our tough guy administration gets anything done - pay people not to fight or not to hold hostages.

I guarantee you they're already trying to arrive at a price which will allow them to say they intimidated Iran into abandoning their nukes.

And BTW it's hilarious when an effeminate guy like Graham acts tough.