How's that smile and handshake working for ya? What? They're not buying it?
Another glorious victory for 'shiny-happy-people holding hands' diplomacy.
With sincerest apologies to REM.
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"A man or a nation is not placed upon this earth to do merely what is pleasant and what is profitable. It is often called upon to carry out what is both unpleasant and unprofitable, but if it is obviously right it is mere shirking not to undertake it." ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Tragedy of Korosko
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- Jason
- Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada
- I am a graduate from the Education faculty at the University of Alberta. I teach high school social studies in Slave Lake, Alberta. I still love Dr. Pepper and all its 23 flavors, but I've switched to diet.
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8 comments:
Well, at least he tried.
In other words, if the U.S. and its allies give up all support for Israel and allow the Iranians and Syrians to wipe the Jewish state from the face of the earth the Ayatollahs might condescend to stopping their jihad at the Atlantic Ocean. Anything less than the surrender of the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe to the rule of the mad mullahs is unacceptable.
And that's just the terms for opening negotiations. The tough measures come later.
Did anybody expect that Obama and the Iranian government would become BFF's overnight? The point here is that Obama has reached out and suggested an alternative relationship to the standoffish one the two countries have had in recent years. Of course they weren't going to accept it automatically. There's a lot of mending to do in their relationship before there's the smallest chance that such a relationship could succeed.
Don't expect this to be Obama's one and only attempt. He knew it would be rejected and that it will take time to build enough trust for such a idea to take hold.
To the last point: if he knew it would fail, why not try and do something a bit more meaningful right from the get go? Of course trust takes time to build but why waste time with an effort that everyone knows will fall on its face? Are there people who hope that with enough silly gestures like this, people can get down to business?
Mark Steyn's book "America Alone" gives a rather interesting commentary on this sort of thing. Too many of our so-called enemies know how to wait and know that a gradual wearing down of the West's reservations will give them the edge they're looking for. I'm not about to start taking to the street warning of an impending Iranian holocaust but I think there are some people you just can't be nice with. If we know if won't work, let's do something more effective.
Because a single reaching-out gesture, even if it fails, CAN be meaningful and worthwhile. It's going to take time for the new US administration to show that it's sincere.
So, just how can that gesture be meaningful and worthwhile if, again, people know it will fail? My whole point is that, yes, gestures can lead to change. But why waste time with something that won't work when they could try a different approach that might be more successful?
"Yes, Mr. President. The video you taped is ready. We don't think it will work either but that sure is a nice tie you have on."
How is that smart diplomacy?
I suppose it depends on the perspective you take. The way I see it, it is going to take a awfully long time (ie: well beyond the lifetime of the Obama administration) to change relations with countries like Iran (assuming doing so is desirable in the first place, which I will reserve judgement on for the moment). In order to walk down such a path, little steps will have to be taken first. I feel that's what Obama attempted to do. While I'm sure he didn't expect to break through and establish successful relations with that one gesture (which is what I meant when I said he expected it to fail), I doubt he expected it to backfire as badly as it did. That doesn't mean it was a waste of time though. He has demonstrated that he's willing to step back from the brinkmanship that has characterized the US-Iranian relationship for some time now. Perhaps in the future, assuming the US desire to establish a more positive dialogue doesn't get swept away in an election, the Iranians will warm up to the idea. In the meantime, Obama has made his intentions clear, which is a start.
Is rational talk with Iran's "supreme Leader" worthwhile? History has shown us what often happens when we smilingly start to reason and talk with despots who ar just itching to achieve their goals. The passive "let's talk this through" body often ends up either getting trampled or just looking like a fool. Remember Neville Chamberlain and the Munich treaty? Talk about a farce of diplomacy!
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