Thursday, September 28, 2006

Rice Says Time Is Running Out for Iran To Suspend Enrichment. The United States is willing to give European Union negotiator Javier Solana a bit more time to pursue negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program before pushing for U.N. Security Council sanctions, but Iran’s time is running out, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “It is important in keeping a coalition together to -- if people want to explore something that doesn't move you very far off course -- to go ahead and explore it,” Rice tells journalists. [US State Dept - Washington File] 1:11:44 AM    comment [] trackback []

	Monday, August 28, 2006

The French Re-Re-Resolve There's no grandstanding like French grandstanding. Former British defense Michael Portillo has an excellent column on the French "grandstanding" once again on display in Lebanon. Portillo first applied that term -- by which he means the habit of making impressive statements with no means to put them into effect -- to the French when he dealt with them during peace-keeping efforts in Bosnia. As Portillo puts it The French believe that what they say is at least as important as what they do. They spin grandiloquent phrases and strike postures. Rhetoric is away of life and if you point out it is divorced from all strategic reality that is thought to be nitpicking. This time around France used the "uncelar rules of engagement" as its excuse for not supplying promised troops for the U.N. operation in Lebanon. But, as Portillo notes: If any country could have settled such important details in advance it is France. It took the kudos for working up the UN resolution. It acted as spokesman for the Arab world within the permanent five members of the council. It insisted that the resolution should not be made under chapter 7 of the UN charter, which would have given the troops the right to impose their will by force. Moreover, although Chirac now claims that he has reaceived assurances that enabled him to increase French numbers, Portillo says that the rules of the mission are still unspecified. The real reason for enhanced French participation, says Portillo, is that the Italians had offered to lead the deployment and the Americans had mischievously welcomed that "bizarre" idea. France "could not bear the mortification of operating under the command of its southern neighbour — least of all in Lebanon, a country so strongly tied to the French by history and culture." But why did Chirac make such a fool of himself and his country? According to Portillo, the answer is simpe -- "France’s reluctance to tackle Hezbollah." And that does not bode well for this mission. It's already clear that neither the U.N. force nor the Lebanese army will (a) attempt to disarm Hezbollah or (b) block arms shipments to Hezbollah from Syria. If Portillo is correct, and I suspect he is, the U.N. force is also likely to turn a blind eye to Hezbollah's rearmament. Looking at the bigger picture, Portillo's conclusion is even more damning: Now that British and American forces are bogged down in Iraq, this should be the moment for the French cock to crow. But what exactly has the distinctive French alternative produced for the world or France? The softer European approach to Iran over its nuclear programme was decisively rebuffed, and Europe has had to join America in calling for sanctions. When France was invited to provide leadership over Lebanon, it vacillated. Its offer of 2,000 soldiers remains underwhelming. Chirac’s pro-Arab policies have not even bought off Muslim discontent at home, as the urban riots showed. On the other hand, French foreign policy rhetoric remains unsurpassed. Via Real Clear Politics [Power Line] 1:55:06 AM    comment [] trackback []

	Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Iran's Response, No 'Doomsday' for Brian Ross Iran's reply is, let's talk.  It wasn't, OK, we'll stop refining uranium.   Meanwhile, the talk & delay game that Saddam pulled off for years in the United Nations, is now engaged in Iran.  Like Hezbollah, Iran is in building and re-arming mode, which is apparently the U.N.'s preferred method of negotiations.  Especially when the offending party, Iran, calls the UN Security Council's so-called deadline of August 31, 2006 for Iran to stop enriching uranium as 'illegal' and 'worthless.'  Starting from there, Iran can drag this out for years as long as they are calling the shots. I don't know, maybe someone should check on Brian Ross, 'Chief Investigative Correspondent' at ABC.    Iran's response turned out to be the usual talk & delay game of negotiations.  And not the 'day of reckoning' he envisioned  for the West.    12:08:11 PM    comment [] trackback []

	Sunday, August 20, 2006

Iran Will Give It's Answer On Tuesday, 8/22/06 Highlighting just how ineffective and impotent Kofi Annan and his United Nations are, he pulls out all the diplomatic stops to get Iran to agree to halt it's uranium enrichment program.  The U.N. ignores its own resolutions when they don't work, 1559, so it comes down to 'pretty please with a cherry on top.'  Says Kofi: "I appeal to the government of Iran to seize this historic opportunity ... Iran's reply, I trust will be positive."  Tehran is expected to officially reply to Annan on Tuesday, August 22nd.  There's that date again. U.N.'s Kofi Annan Appeals to Iran [NewsMax.com] Iran's reply is, let's talk.  It wasn't, OK, we'll stop refining uranium.   Meanwhile, the talk & delay game that Saddam pulled off for years in the United Nations, is now engaged in Iran.  Like Hezbollah, Iran is in building and re-arming mode, which is apparently the U.N. preferred method of negotiations.    6:58:32 PM    comment [] trackback []

	Thursday, August 17, 2006

Is Iran Preparing For August 22nd This Way? Satellite Blackout in Tehran. Blog of the Week Vital Perspective notes that the government of Iran is going from building to building in Tehran, smashing satellite dishes. This can only be construed as an effort to cut Iranians off, as much as possible, from news originating in the outside world. Which strikes me as ominous, especially with August 22 only five days away. [Power Line] 5:18:32 PM    comment [] trackback []

	Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Iran Says Yes To Talks And No To Stopping Nuclear Program Iran modifies the stall-proceed diplomacy slightly.  As Iran continues it's nuclear enrichment program, they begin to hint at maybe some sort of negotiated settlement, but doesn't like preconditions.  Preconditions like stopping the program now and then we'll talk. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knows how to buy time while continuing to violate their treaty.  But, as Ahmadinejad has already stated, he doesn't recognize documents signed by Iran's former leaders.  A clue to the mental state of this terrorist President. Clearly the UN hasn't a clue or the will to do anything to Iran, including speaking up about Iran's nuclear project.  It's Bush who did the hard work and took the lead in building a coalition of countries to speak with one voice, and it is Bush who delivered the message.   This doesn't make Bush a warmonger, this makes him a leader.  And shows the UN as the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, and speak-no-evil, incompetent and corrupt apologists for all that is wrong in the world.  In A World Of Wimps, Thank God There's Bush Bush Gives Iran an Ultimatum [NewsMax.com] AP 12:36:37 AM    comment [] trackback []

	Thursday, May 25, 2006

"Being attacked by a U.N. nation is always a hoot" Comic for 24 May 2006. [Wizard of Id] 12:59:34 AM    comment [] trackback []

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