Obama victory offers hope to Iran
It has taken nearly two days to emerge, but the message of congratulations from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to US President-elect Barack Obama is almost certainly unprecedented since the Islamic Revolution.
Iran and the United States are more used to trading insults – the “Axis of Evil” versus the “Great Satan”.
So this message seems to open intriguing possibilities in US-Iranian relations.
You might have not guessed it from his rhetoric, but it is widely believed in Tehran that President Ahmadinejad is keen for some sort of reconciliation with the US.
This poses a big dilemma for Mr Obama’s new foreign policy team.
During the presidential election campaign, Mr Obama offered to talk with Iran without preconditions.
But any improvement in US-Iranian relations could hand a big prize to Mr Ahmadinejad, as he runs for re-election next summer.
It is something to distract Iranians from the disastrous state of their country’s economy and public finances, as crashing oil prices compound years of mismanagement.
Israel, on the other hand, is not exactly thrilled with Obama’s willingness to talk to Iran. Was Obama just playing to the crowd when he said he might not be so friendly to Iran?
Bush and his people have stampeded the public into the belief that Iran poses some urgent threat to the U.S. The discussion became “what” we will do about that threat, not whether there is a threat.
Iran, today, has an economy about the size of Finland’s. Even if they managed to build a nuclear warhead, they’d have to FedEx it, they have no ICBMs. And they don’t have enough frequent flier miles to send an invanding army.
Israel has a problem with Iran. We don’t.
#25 you really do like to hear yourself talk, don’t you. Too bad we couldn’t harness all your hot air. We wouldn’t have to worry about energy independence. Come to think of it, you may be the sole cause of global warming.
I said it before and i will say it again unti the end of time. FUCK ISRAEL. All they do is pick on their neighbors, rub it in people’s faces that they own a certain piece of land, and then expect us to help them out , clean up after them. Hopefully no more. The fact that Israel would prefer to continue a war then talks shows us of their arrogance.
jim h…that’s what the politics of fear bring to us: fake threats.
#27 – Paddy-RAMBO
>>Just watched Obama’s press conference.
>>Pretty underwhelming.
Oh, for Christ’s sake, RAMBO. The guy’s been president-elect for two fucking days. He said what he’s going to do, without making claims that he hasn’t accomplished yet. If you want to read his economic plans, look at barackobama dot com. Until Jan 20th, the Douche Bag in Chief is still “in charge”.
Stop being such a whiner.
>>As I predicted after listening to the press
>>conference
I missed that prediction when you made it. Do you have a link? Or did you just make the prediction to yourself in secret, and reveal it after it had been proven correct? Pretty easy to maintain a 1000 batting average that way, huh? The market went back UP afterwards; did you predict that also? And does your quantitative prediction model also include OTHER factors that may affect the market besides speechifying by the president-elect of 2 days?
In any case, it’s very refreshing to have a president (-elect) who can speak without making the nation and the world cringe, not only from the lack (and idiocy) of content, but from his total inability to say a sentence of more than 3 words without sounding like a drunken, uneducated Yogi Berra.
Mission is not Accomplished yet, but at least we’re headed in the right direction.
#34 – Quagliamire
>>Blah. Blah blah. Blah blah blah.
Fuck you.
At least when I speak, I have something to say. Next time you have the urge to post one of your “nah-nee nah-nee boo-boo” content-free posts, why not just go jerk off instead. The world will be better for it.
Of course Iran is happy to have Obama as president. In Obama he is under the impression that its going to be a return to the good times when the US ignored Iran, and pretty much let them do what they want, and you know what? He is probably right.
Obama is perceived as weak by these dictators, they may be wrong, and I sure hope they are, but that is the perception that they are under. Bush, for all his faults would not yield one bit on Iranian demands. Iran sees in Obama someone who can be manipulated with a little lip service. Perhaps come out and make some public concessions, but fail to actually do them. After all, Iran would get what they want, and Obama would be able to go back to the US and say he has achieved piece in our time with Iran.
Now Obama may surprise us all, but I personally am not going to bet on that.
#37 – MacGuyver
>>Maybe because of comments like this?
Oh. Damn. Your proof-positive video just so happens to be “no longer available”.
I’ll bet that would be the one to make me see the light, huh?
>>No one seemed to complain when we did it
>>under Clinton.
That’s because we didn’t completely fuck it up under Clinton. If you want to be policeman of the world, you just can’t do it with a gibbering chimpanzee as your “commander” in “chief”.
>>The Iraq war is one of the lowest casualty
>>wars we’ve had.
Pffft. How many wars have we had? Sure, more people died in WWI and WWII, but wtf? That’s why they’re called “world wars”, because most of the world is fighting.
The Iraq war (so far) has killed about the same number of Americans as the Revolutionary War, and far more than the War of 1812 or the Spanish-American War.
Do you imagine that the sequelae of the Iraq war will be as far-reaching and long-lasting as the Revolutionary War?
Haw!!
You should go back to making TV shows.
[The video is still there. For some reason, YouTube embedded videos sometimes give you the ‘no longer available’ tag when they are actually still available. I think it’s a WordPress problem.- ed.]
#38, #40 The planet’s temperature just went a few more degrees with those 2 posts. No very eco friendly for a demotard.
#39 – Bob
>>Obama is perceived as weak by these dictators
They would be foolish, then. And their foolishness will not serve them well, as they will soon find out. Dumbya was a clownish buffoon; he was fortunate to be able to pronounce the dictators’ names properly, much less deal with them in an effective fashion.
>>Bush, for all his faults would not yield one
>>bit on Iranian demands.
Dumbya is congenitally incapable of yielding on anything, whether he’s right or wrong. It takes a more flexible, dextrous mind than he has. Five years later, the douche bag is still touting the Iraq war as having been a “good thing”.
So now, we’re involved in a Mexican standoff with Iran; worse off than we were before 2000.
It will probably take us decades to dig ourselves out of the shit-hole Dumbya has created.
If any of the candidates (even pre-primary) can dig us out of the Iranian mess (and the rest of Dumbya’s can of worms), it’s Obama.
#41 – Quagliamire
I wish this blog software had an “ignore” function. Your posts are truly without merit.
And yet, you continue to allude to my comments.
#16
> History shows again and
> again that diplomacy works.
Of course it works…when both sides wish to be diplomatic. Diplomacy didn’t do squat in 1939 but worked well (far from perfect. diplomacy handed the Soviets half of Europe) in 1945. What does not work is compromising with terrorists or those that foster and support terrorists.
“Healing the wounds” sounds like more of the kumbayah foreign policy. The US should be open to helping a country eradicate extremism but should be unyielding against those that refuse.
> Adminawhatever in Iran and
> Chavez (Castro, too) is to
> bring them in the tent…let
> their people see that we are
> honorable and their leader
> may not be.
Why go through that exercise when we know they are not? We know that Castro is not honorable and neither is Chavez.
#20
> Isn’t anyone else tired with
> the USA policing the whole world
The last time we tried that was the mid 1930’s. Isolationism is no longer a viable option.
#23
> We’ve ignored and tried to
> bully our enemies for a
> long time, and how has that worked out?
Pretty well actually. Soviet Union is gone. South Korea is still free. Cuba is irrelevant. Taiwan is still free (for the moment). Hussein is gone. Taliban no longer controls Afghanistan.
#33
Does that mean we can green light Israeli to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities?
Hey! Why don’t you Repubs quit bashing Obama? Give him a chance to show what he can or can’t do. If he screws up, then you can bash him.
#45 Thomas:
“Does that mean we can green light Israeli to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities?”
A good question. It assumes 1) Israel’s actions are subject to U.S. approval, and 2) Iran actually has “nuclear facilities”.
I think a better question is: should we attempt to prevent them from taking such an action?
#10. “Will he learn from the failures of Clinton and Carter with respect to negotiating with terrorists or not?”
more relevant – will he learn from Reagan’s failures with respect to trading weapons for hostages?
(you guys would like us to forget that one, but we won’t – your plaster saint was the biggest negotiator with terrorists in modern US history)
#45. “Of course it works…when both sides wish to be diplomatic. Diplomacy didn’t do squat in 1939 but worked well (far from perfect. diplomacy handed the Soviets half of Europe) in 1945.”
actually, the Red Army handed the Soviets half of Europe in 1945. we got the half with all the paved roads.
You guys may have to hold your blood-lust in check for at least four years, and continue to propound the false choice of “isolationism” vs. fighting everybody.
#49
RE: Reagan
Actually, Reagan gave weapons to one group in order to help facilitate the fall of a worse group. (Enemy of my enemy etc.)
> actually, the Red Army handed the Soviets
That would be the same group. Red Army = Soviet Army. Further, in 1945, there weren’t many paved roads left east or west of eventual Berlin Wall. Oh and we didn’t “get” the part with the paved roads. We fought to keep what scraps were left after an inexperienced, previously Senator, President negotiated away most of Eastern Europe to Stalin. Thankfully, Truman learned fast and with the help of Marshall ensured that we kept the part with (somewhat) paved roads.
It has nothing to do with blood lust. It has to do with success rate against your target enemy. Historically, it has been proven that negotiating with terrorists is a lost cause and usually ends with greater loss of life then just eliminating them.
Don’t get me wrong – I think Iran is in the hands of truly nasty, corrupt people peddling fundamentalism as politics. Some of them might be crazy enough to take on Israel if they had the chance. I just can’t see Iran as threat to the US. When you look at their actual resources, and at what they’d stand to lose by attacking a Western nation, it’s laughable.
It was the same with Iraq. How frightening did the real Saddam Hussein turn out to be? Just an another blustering old fool like Castro, without a Soviet Union to back him up.
#51
So why should we have worried about Hitler in 1939? So he takes Poland. So what. That does not affect us right? So he takes Belgium and France. That does not affect us right? So he starts bombing Britain. So what. That does not affect us right?
It is amazing how much affects us from the other side of the planet.
#52 – St. Thomas
>> So why should we have worried about Hitler
>>in 1939? So he takes Poland. So what. That
>>does not affect us right? So he takes Belgium
>>and France.
Hitler’s Wermacht had over 18,000,000 soldiers (trained with Nazi-like discipline), and as you point out, he was “taking” Poland, France, and Belgium.
I’m A Dinner Jacket’s ragtag Islamic Army has about 300,000 “soldiers”, of varying degrees of capability and dedication to The Cause.
That’s why Obama said what Obama said in MacGuyver’s misleading propaganda video.
Iran is a nasty bunch, and they bear close watching. Israel should keep a close eye on them. As far as being a clear and present danger to the US, HAW! HAW HAW HAW!! The only thing they could possibly do is bomb us with nukes, and we’d shoot their planes down like target skeets before they got out of the desert. Then, optionally, turn the whole godforsaken country into a sheet of molten glass.
# 50 Thomas wrote
“Red Army = Soviet Army” – wow! Who knew? Thanks for that.
Truman became president after the boundaries of Eastern Europe were largely set at Yalta and Tehran. Marshall was concerned with Asia until 1947 and by then things were already set in stone. He was mainly a figurehead of the state department plan even then.
I’m not sure governments i.e Iran, can be called terrorists if they could we would all be guilty of that.
“Historically, it has been proven that…”???
The IRA, ANC, ZANU, the Haganah and Irgun are examples of negotiations with ‘terrorists’, so as Doug said, turn down the blood lust. As for ‘eliminating them’, who do you mean? The whole country?
Who are you Americans gonna hate next if peace is made with North Korea and Iran? I mean, you have to have an enemy, right? You could stick with the whole ‘war on terror’ charade but that starting to wear a little thin.
I suppose Georgia’s trouble making with Russia (with a little yankee know how) could present them as the next bad guy. Yeah, that’s it. A new cold war to boost flagging arms sales.
#13
“Obama’s incredible statesmanship”??????
Keep drinking the idol-worshipping koolaid, Dallas. Where exactly do you see a long and respected national and international career of leadership being evinced in Obama? You have to be kidding me. The man has been isolated in a cocoon of idolatry – southside Chicago and a quick and unaccomplished tour of the U.S. senate after winning an uncontested seat. His win in the presidential race was a very un-commanding 52% of the popular vote, largely propelled by the ultra-racist black voting bloc. He has no mandate and what he has will evaporate after the emperor’s lack of clothing is exposed in the light of day. The shine will tarnish heavily even before he takes office. After the teleprompters were turned off and the sound bites vanished, today’s press conference was just the first showcase of wandering mediocrity. He’s certainly no Jack Kennedy, when it comes to press conferences. Seances? In his case, skepticism is just plain reality. How long will your koolaid supplies last, Dallas?
#54
> Truman became president after
> the boundaries of Eastern Europe
> were largely set at Yalta and Tehran.
Wrong. The real discussion about boundaries started at Potsdam.
> Marshall was concerned with Asia
> until 1947 and by then things were
> already set in stone. He was mainly
> a figurehead of the state department
> plan even then.
From 1945 on, Marshall was concerned with China until 1949 when the Communists took control and then he was *really* worried. Marshall was far from a figurehead. He was the dominant voice for Truman’s foreign policy from the moment he took the position until he retired. Ever hear of the Marshall Plan? Marshall is considered one of the greatest Secretary of State’s the country has ever had.
RE: Negotiating with terrorists
For how many years did the British try to negotiate with the IRA and how many years was it successful? Only when the IRA decided to stop being terrorists was diplomacy able to take place.
#55
Hey, I’d love to live in a world where we did not need a military. Where everyone just got along, held hands and sang kumbayah around the campfire. We are many, many, many generations from such a world.
#50. “RE: Reagan
Actually, Reagan gave weapons to one group in order to help facilitate the fall of a worse group. (Enemy of my enemy etc.)”
not really. Reagan sold weapons to Iran so that Iran would intervene with their friends in Lebanon to release our hostages.
“> actually, the Red Army handed the Soviets
That would be the same group. Red Army = Soviet Army. Further, in 1945, there weren’t many paved roads left east or west of eventual Berlin Wall. Oh and we didn’t “get” the part with the paved roads. We fought to keep what scraps were left after an inexperienced, previously Senator, President negotiated away most of Eastern Europe to Stalin. Thankfully, Truman learned fast and with the help of Marshall ensured that we kept the part with (somewhat) paved roads.”
as has been noted, the Red Army was the Soviet Army. Nobody “handed” Eastern Europe to the Soviets – they took it. Unless the USA was willing to fight WW3 to liberate it (and even the Republicans weren’t ready to do that), they were going to keep it.
and a Cold War era map demonstrates that the vast majority of Germany, as well as France, Italy, Norway, Denmark, etc. wound up with the good guys, while the communists wound up with such plums as Yugoslavia and Albania. not a bad outcome for the good guys. Hardly ‘scraps.’
“It has nothing to do with blood lust. It has to do with success rate against your target enemy. Historically, it has been proven that negotiating with terrorists is a lost cause and usually ends with greater loss of life then just eliminating them”
Someone should have brought that up with Ronald Reagan and Oliver North. And someone should bring that up with the current administration, which has quite cordial relations with the political parties that currently govern Iraqi Kurdistan, but who also play nice with Kurdish terrorists operating in Turkey.
the enemy of our friend is … our friend? boy, this confusing.
we do not have to ‘eliminate’ Iran. All we have to do is persuade them that their interests are better served by ceasing their support of Hezbollah, freezing their nuclear program, etc. Which can be done.
I mean, they have every reason to love us. We took out their regional rivals in Afghanistan AND Iraq, greatly expanding their influence in the latter country.
They owe us a solid.
#57 I’m not that naive to think that the military could or should be abolished. I’m distressed at the Orwellian culture of hate that stigmatizes the American people. It seems that Americans fear to lose identity if they’re not at war or don’t have an enemy to stare down, an identity that’s no doubt propagated by your rampant arms and energy industries. A people that hate and fear consume more and are easier to manipulate.
I hope that Obama can help get America off their addiction to bombs, guns and oil and start healing the damage done by the neo-cons and their immoral greedy cooperate sponsors but I don’t hold high hopes. The idea of American exceptionalism need to die first.
RE: Iran-Contra
No. Reagan sold arms to the Contras through Iran to fight communists in Nicaragua.
RE: End of WW2
That naivete on Truman’s part doomed Eastern Europe to fifty years of communist rule and billions of dollars on our part to fight the Cold War. We could have sent troops into Berlin first but Truman chose against it. We could have demanded Poland remain free with free elections but Truman backed down. We could have demanded that the boundaries after the war return to those of 1936 but Truman backed down. Yes, the Soviets had occupied most of Eastern Europe on their way to Berlin but we could have pushed them. Would WW3 have been preferable to the millions that Stalin had personally killed?
“We” as in the US, did not “take” western Europe. We liberated it. Once the war was over, control of those countries returned to their original governments unlike in Eastern Europe.
> we do not have to ‘eliminate’ Iran.
Who said anything about eliminating Iran? As the Iranian President said, we don’t want eliminate Iran. Just their government.
> All we have to do is
> persuade them that their interests
> are better served by ceasing their
> support of Hezbollah, freezing
> their nuclear program, etc.
> Which can be done.
I’m sure that no one at the CIA in the past 25 years or the Bush Administration or the Clinton Administration or the Bush I Administration thought of that. So, given that you providing pointed foreign policy advice, what do you do when they say f- you? Better yet, what do you do when they say “Sure. We’ll be nice neighbors” and ignore you behind your back?
#57
You misrepresent the sentiment of the American people. Americans do not want to be at war. Any war. The problem is that there are parts of the world that continue to fester and the people closest to those areas do nothing to solve the problem. Eventually those problems end up on our door step.
American is not addicted to war. But we aren’t going to sit down while we’re attacked either. Some of the kindest most giving people live in America. However, they have their limit. When we were attacked, it was systemic of a greater issue of Islamic fundamentalism that simply taking out the Taliban would not solve.
#56
I’m not thrilled with some of Obama’s ideas, but I thought his crack about Nancy’s seances was hilarious.
#57/62 Getting out of the Middle East and renouncing support of a totalitarian and utterly corrupt Saudi Arabia instead war profiteering and saber rattling will go a long way to preventing ‘problems ending up on your doorstep’. Of course the arms and oil corporations that have the American government under their thumb will probably have a thing or two to say about that.
Once your government stops pandering to the corporations who drive this endless cycle of war and fear, perhaps you can realize energy independence and peace.
I’m sure Americans are kind hearted and peace loving when it comes down to it, as are most folk (even Muslims). Its this idea of American exceptionalism, the idea that you are different to everyone else on the planet and play by different rules to everyone else, that will prevent any true reconciliation with the world at large.
just a *minor* point..
its quite obvious the puppet obama is not going to make Iran very happy, -he announced Rahm Emanuel as his secretary of state… who is about as pro Israel as you can get.
Rahm’s father was a member of Irgun (Israeli
terror group involved in that hotel bombing, iirc) and Rahm himself was director of Fannie mae during the scandle etc.. not to mention all the kennedy family appointments.
great way to signal your intentions.. :::sigh::
the fact that he nailed close to $1bn for his campaign means that his arse is owned by big money and the top elite blowhards..
poor guy was groomed for this role for years… -however, they failed to tell him about the noose around his neck that come with part..
the only one who’s gonna get off easy is the the dog. -maybe.
-s