Reach-Across
Obama tries some with the mullahs. His special videotaped, Farsi-subtitled holiday message to Iran goes on about our “common humanity.” The Iranian people, many of them huge fans of banned, underground American culture, are already good with that. Mullahs, not so much. Message falls down in the part NYT buried:
“So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran’s leaders,” he said. “We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community.”
“This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect,” he said. The use of the term “mutual respect” has become a kind of code-word in speeches by Mr. Obama and President Ahmadinejad, signifying a break with the Bush Administration which listed Iran as part of an “axis of evil” that included Iraq and North Korea.
As in the past, though, the president indicated that rapprochement had a price for Iran, which is heading toward critical presidential elections later this year.
“You, too, have a choice,” the president said. “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right — but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.”
I’m not seeing a mention of the part about hanging homosexuals from cranes, executing young lovers, torturing journalists and beating teachers. The “mutual respect” part, given the history, seems like a bit of a stretch. The mullahs aren’t buying any of it anyway.
Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a senior official in Tehran, said a new relationship could not be built on “Iran forgetting the previous hostile and aggressive attitude of the United States.”
They’ve got Obama where they want him, anyway. Begging, and trying to cut deals with their pal Ivan.
Speaking of reach-across, how come the mullahs get “mutual respect” and the GOP just gets Rush jokes?
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:22 am Comments (3) on Friday, March 20, 2009
3 Responses to “Reach-Across”
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March 20th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden smacks: Speaking of reach-across, how come the mullahs get “mutual respect” and the GOP just [...]
March 20th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
[...] Reach-Across Obama tries some with the mullahs. His special videotaped, Farsi-subtitled holiday message to Iran goes on about our “common humanity.” The Iranian people, many of them huge fans of banned, underground American culture, are already good with that. Mullahs, not so much. Message falls down in the part NYT buried: [...]
March 21st, 2009 at 12:13 am
Under these circumstances, the best Obama can expect is a reach-around.
Maybe that’s what he really wants after all.