The Iranian dilemma
If you think it's easy being President Bush, consider his current dilemma: how to treat Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York. Here's a guy who is no friend of the U.S. or the West, and surely not of Israel. His views as a Holocaust denier got him undeserved big publicity. A collection of his speeches marks him as a major world wacko. He surely doesn't deserve to share any stage with our president. Putting him up there would be a coup, making him seem really important.
But on the other hand, Iran is an important player in Middle East politics and, if it develops its nuclear program, a threat to the world. If the U.S. is to assert its role as the leader of the free world, it must work to discourage Iran's nuclear ambitions and encourage it to take positive steps toward peace in its region. How can Bush or his surrogates do that by snubbing a whole nation because its leader is mentally unstable? Leadership sometimes means talking to people you may not like for the sake of achieving broader goals.
What should the president do? What would you do?
But on the other hand, Iran is an important player in Middle East politics and, if it develops its nuclear program, a threat to the world. If the U.S. is to assert its role as the leader of the free world, it must work to discourage Iran's nuclear ambitions and encourage it to take positive steps toward peace in its region. How can Bush or his surrogates do that by snubbing a whole nation because its leader is mentally unstable? Leadership sometimes means talking to people you may not like for the sake of achieving broader goals.
What should the president do? What would you do?
posted by Larry Benjamin at 2:07 PM
5 Comments:
The answer is obvious. Europe is filled with people who are soooo much more intelligent than any mere American. They are also closer to Iran and have all that diplomatic wisdom. To top it off, they can approach Iran with a united multinational force. Based on much that has been written in the past four years, a European solution to the Iranian A-bomb is obviously a slam-dunk.
"What should the president do?"
With respect to Iran: The president should do absolutely nothing. Israel will deal with Iran.
With respect to South Korea: 53 years after the cease-fire, the president should (a) declare victory in the Korean War; (b) bring all US troops home immediately; (c) render US military bases there inoperable; and (d) announce to the world the new Bush doctrine -- namely that the US will no longer place American troops in harm's way defending an ungrateful people.
With respect to NATO and Europe in general: "Dear John, it just isn't working out ... "
With respect to Don Kosloff: Appoint him Secretary of State.
Iran exists in a dangerous neighborhood, surrounded by countries with nuclear weapons -- Russia, China, India, Pakistan. Therefore, we can't reasonably assume that we could talk Iran out of developing such weapons. Our best course would be: 1. Invite Ahmadinejad to become our friend, pointing out that Iranians and Americans have lots of old friendships. 2. Tell him we understand fully why he wants nuclear weapons. 3. Make it clear that if he ever points those weapons at us, we will obliterate his country.
"Invite Ahmadinejad to become our friend, pointing out that Iranians and Americans have lots of old friendships."
You mean like the friendships that President Ahmadinejad formed with those 52 + American hostages that he, personally, held against their will in the American embassy in 1979-1981? Are those the old friendships to which you are speaking, Mr. Fera?
Ex Hostages: Iran's President Was Our Captor
Iraq's only a big player because we're making them rich with our oil gluttonly. You want to deal with Iran - come up with an oil alternative, you won't hear from that joker again.
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