Priorities
Ya Gotta Have 'Em
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Featured Stories | Foreign Affairs — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
So . . .
Let's say that you are a major player in the Islamic regime in Iran. Whatever your country's disagreements--and they are serious--with the United States, your country and the United States have some very important security issues to resolve; Iraq, regional security in general, terrorism in general, nuclear development . . . you know, the good stuff.
Furthermore, if your country actually gets to parlay with the world's sole superpower and the greatest democracy the world has ever known, it's a major prestige boost. Right?
Right.
Which makes this nothing short of inexplicable.
Read on . . .
Iran's foreign minister walked out of a dinner of diplomats where he was seated directly across from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on the pretext that the female violinist entertaining the gathering was dressed too revealingly.
"I don't know which woman he was afraid of, the woman in the red dress or the secretary of state," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday, regarding the actions of Iran's Manouchehr Mottaki.
Rice herself was questioned by reporters about the lack of a direct conversation with Mottaki, even though it appeared she was "chasing" him.
"Uh, well, you could ask him why he didn't make an effort," she replied. Then she laughed. "Look, I'm not given to chasing anyone."
Doubtless, if the Secretary did give chase, she would have been accused of being a hegemonic neocon. Or something.
Look, I understand that there are different social mores in different parts of the world. Given that my family is from Iran, I especially understand Iranian social mores. At the same time, I understand as well that the vast majority of Iranians are pragmatic people who look at the behavior of outliers like Mottaki and wonder something along the lines of "Quoi? What was he thinking?"
And well they should. How America will gain from negotiations with Iran depends on the nature of those negotiations. But Iran will surely gain something from being able to face the United States across a bargaining table. It is more than a little puzzling as to why they allowed the dress of a femal violinist--which was, I am certain, perfectly and completely within the bounds of propriety--to interfere with that diplomatic opportunity.
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Priorities 7 Comments (0 topical, 7 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." -Mark Twain
...and your response is to invoke Jon Stewart's prior mocking of George Bush*?
Umm, why?
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
*Stewart's a talented comedian, and he's riffing on something that Bush said. Fair enough; I even chuckled. But this clip had nothing to do with the actual matter at hand.
that no serious diplomatic efforts are being made by the Iranians or the United States.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." -Mark Twain
It is the level of discourse we have come to expect from your side, mickery passing for insightful commentary. Let us know when you all get driver's licenses, then come back and contribute something worthwhile to the nation.
Try flipping the argument. Suppose that Iran doesn't want to talk to the U.S., but also doesn't want to be seen as the intransigent party. Why might the Iranians not want to talk to the U.S.? Perhaps because: (i) they favor instability in Iraq; (ii) are uninterested in any regional security arrangement that leaves U.S. forces in the region; (iii) have no problem with the concept of terrorism in general, and feel perfectly equipped to deal with specific problematic terrorists themselves; and (iv) are quite pleased with the tenor of international actions to halt their nuclear program.
In all of these areas, Iranian diplomacy is progressing successfully; ours has hit some obvious snags.
If I were an Iranian diplomat, I would be quite pleased with the way that the "international community" is handling the Middle East. The U.S. is the only possible fly in the ointment. Why exactly would I want to do anything that might encourage greater U.S. involvement?
It all strikes me as eminently rational.
The Informationist
www.theinformationist.com
.... into the Iranian mindset, a peek behind the curtains so to speak.
Go back to the years before WWII. The Japanese delegates storm out of the League of Nations while Japanese Gunboats sink a United States Naval craft in Chinese waters killing American sailors in the process. 20/20 hindsite allows us to realize the Japanese just didn't care what they did. They were going to do what they were going to do and it was just plain tough banannas if you didn't like it.
Obviously this Diplomatic slight shows there is neither desire nor intent to make peace on the part of the Iranians. The Democrats had better pray the Iranians are using conscripted political prisoners to make the fuses for their nuclear devices, and these prisoners are deliberately sabotaging their own work.