« Why Does America Hate Orphans? | Main | Almost Anything! »
Toward a Better Iran Policy?
Jeremy Reff has an enlightening post on Iran policy and, of greater interest, links to some signs that the Bush administration is moving toward adopting a more sensible Iran policy. If it happens, good for them. Now, needless to say, if Bush does this, I expect he'll win fulsome praise from the hawkosphere. It might be worth pointing out that this "Pollack/Takeyh Policy" used to be known as "John Kerry's Iran Policy," at a point in time when the conventional wisdom in the hawkosphere was that John Kerry's election would lead immediately to a takeover of the United States by a Baath/Iran/al-Qaeda alliance. Indeed, between Election Day (actually, somewhat earlier) and today, Bush seems to me to have basically been implementing the Kerry foreign policy. So I'm a bit bitter. But, you know what, good for him. The Bush foreign policy was terrible. Maybe we'll get a miracle and the president will start taking Josh Furman's advice on economics all of a sudden.
March 4, 2005 | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345160fd69e200d8346415fa69e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Toward a Better Iran Policy?:
Comments
MY, I don't know if you take requests, but I would love to see a nice long post explaining the details of how Bush is implementing John Kerry's foreign policy.
Posted by: Kiril | Mar 4, 2005 12:29:16 PM
Not so fast, daddy-o:
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Iran has so far shown no interest in a proposed European deal over its nuclear program.
Ms. Rice says Iran has given no indication that it will accept the offer of trade benefits in exchange for an end to the Tehran government's nuclear ambitions.
Are we seeing this scenario accelerated?
# Methodology: Stay Ahead of the Story
– Strategically, criticism of Iran will come faster than argument can be made against the points.
– Tactically, we’ll continue to dominate the 24-hour cycle but work to reduce perspective by others this time.
# Phases
– Building the Base
• Sub-theme: Iran is bad, but diplomacy is the best option for dealing with the problem.
– Expanding Support at Home and Overseas
• Sub-theme: (1) Diplomacy is failing. (2) This is not just a problem for the United States,
– The Time Has Come
• Sub-theme: Diplomacy has failed; we have no choice.
# Timing: Communications plan and the military plan have to be synchronized.
Or just some gameswomanship?
Posted by: praktike | Mar 4, 2005 12:31:28 PM
Bush's foreign policy was terrible? John Kerry didn't even have a plan...o wait I guess I was supposed to visit his website to find it since he never made it public at least. Iran is totally different than Iraq and to compare Bush's policy now to Kerry's Iraq policy is ridiculous. Iraq had 12 years to prove no weapons, how long are countries supposed to be allowed to do what they want and oppose international law. I really don't get some of you libs at times.
Posted by: gecko | Mar 4, 2005 12:33:03 PM
I would love to see a nice long post explaining the details of how Bush is implementing John Kerry's foreign policy.
Yeah. I need a good laugh.
Posted by: Al | Mar 4, 2005 12:35:29 PM
Iraq had 12 years to prove no weapons, how long are countries supposed to be allowed to do what they want and oppose international law. I really don't get some of you libs at times.
Is this a joke?
I swear to fucking god I do not understand this country. International law?
This is about as good as the Bush I heard on the radio who bleeds rivers for the poor suffering Lebanese under Syrian occupation. Is he fucking kidding? What in the fuck is wrong with this place? Why isn't that a black joke that everyone laughs their ass off at?
Posted by: Ed Marshall | Mar 4, 2005 12:44:46 PM
Gecko, maybe you don't get some of the libs at times because you don't bother to pay attention to what they actually say (or write). Here, recall the difference between Iran and Iraq.
Posted by: Jeff L. | Mar 4, 2005 12:49:10 PM
"I guess I was supposed to visit his website to find it since he never made it public"
And we all know that putting stuff on websites doesn't count as making it public--just ask Jeff Gannon . . .
;)
Posted by: rea | Mar 4, 2005 12:50:13 PM
gecko, you do realize, don't you, that iraq had no weapons, said so, and the inspectors were in the process of confirming that when Mr. Crisis insisted that we invade Iraq?
And you realize that just because Iran wasn't a major campaign issue doesn't mean that Kerry didn't have a "plan?"
And you realize that Bush doesn't have a plan for anything, ever?
Kiril/Al, we'll let Matthew produce his own full-scale piece, but let's sum up Bush's first-term foreign policy: pre-emption is the solution to everything; old europe has no meaning; existing international alliances and institutions are essentially irrelevant; negotations with your enemies are stupid and "reward" bad behavior; candid insults are much more likely to produce results than diplomatic language; and whether george bush does or does not trust someone in his "gut" is sufficient to drive any and all decision-making.
What john kerry stood for was: the value of existing alliances and institutions; pre-emption, while a right that every country has when threatened, should be reserved for that traditional definition; negotiations with bad actors, while distasteful, beat my way or the highway ultimatums; and national interest, not gut feelings, should drive our decision-making.
You tell me which foreign policy we're seeing so far....
Posted by: howard | Mar 4, 2005 12:55:33 PM
Right. I'll do this at greater length, but so far the Bush foreign policy in the second term has centered around improving relations with core European allies, deploying diplomatic and economic pressure through international institutions (see, e.g., Lebanon), taking a hands off approach to Iraqi internal politics, and -- according to some reports at least -- moving toward a policy of constructive engagement with Iran. This was the Kerry foreign policy.
Now on Iran, it's not clear that Bush actually will do what it sort of looks like he may do. But the Iran policy that Kenneth Pollack recently outlined in Foreign Affairs and that some people (Greg Djerejian and Jeremy Reff, to name two in the blogosphere) think Bush is moving toward adopting was exactly Kerry's Iran policy. Pollack, after all, is the top Iran guy in the Democratic Party's national security establishment.
But look, I'm not complaining! I don't want Bush to go back to the old policy just so that I can be proven right in my belief that re-electing him would be a bad idea. I like the new policy.
Posted by: Matthew Yglesias | Mar 4, 2005 1:04:30 PM
How does a country prove it doesn't have certain weapons?
Iraq could have shown records that they had destroyed stocks of WMD, it could even have destroyed its WMD in front of observers. That wouldn't have proven it didn't have WMD and no amount of observer testimony and records of destruction would have made those who decided to invade Iraq decide not to invade it.
Posted by: WeSaferThemHealthier | Mar 4, 2005 1:34:48 PM
You tell me which foreign policy we're seeing so far....
Did Bush really sign Kyoto without me realizing it?
And, man, can you tell me the timetable to withdraw from Iraq - like France has wanted?
Also, since we are now taking the European approach to Iran - negotiating - can you tell me when is Bush's summit with Ayatollah Khameini?
Posted by: Al | Mar 4, 2005 1:46:44 PM
I believe Scott Ritter. He has never lied to me before.
Posted by: bob mcmanus | Mar 4, 2005 1:59:26 PM
Thank you, sir. I look forward to your longer piece. For a while now, it has seemed whenever I discuss foreign policy I feel like the end of Apocalypse Now ("Do you think my methods are unsound?" "I don't see any method...at all.")
Another question, though: Does recent apparent success in the Middle East mean that the Kerry policy is superior on its own, or does it only work in the context of four years of Bush? In other words, does being reasonable seem so effective now because everyone has gotten a look at what unreasonable is like?
Posted by: Kiril | Mar 4, 2005 2:02:16 PM
I don't think any of this means anything.
It's the same plan as Iraq. You have the Mylroieese Lightning in a Bottle claiming that Hezbollah is not a regional enemy of Israel but a Worldwide Super Terrorist Operation aimed at the U.S.
I've already heard the same bright folks who bought into the last round of bullshit spouting things right out of it.
Now you have the intellectual groundwork laid down to say that there is this Nihilistic Multinational Terrorist outfit that has Iran's support and Iran is working on a nuke.
Hell, Iraq was ten times easier to sell than this. If Bush and his people believe all this garbage they should be leveling Tehran today. Someone will have to, the fearmongering has escaped the cage.
Posted by: Ed Marshall | Mar 4, 2005 2:29:31 PM
"I don't see any method...at all."
It's the oil.
Posted by: abb1 | Mar 4, 2005 2:37:11 PM
Hey Matt - It's Jason Furman, not Josh.
Posted by: Demington | Mar 4, 2005 2:42:18 PM
Al, really, didn't you eat your wheaties this morning? You mean to tell me that you think that the essence of Bush's foreign policy was to reject Kyoto (while promising to put an alternative on the table, which is yet another thing he's never done) while the essence of Kerry's foreign policy was to approve it? You don't really mean that, do you?
As for your comments on iraq and iran, they are downright silly and tell us nothing about the matter at hand. Bush long ago moved to the bulk of Kerry's positions on Iraq: try to get others more involved and indicate that troop withdrawal is tied to greater stability on the ground.
As for Iran, read what Matthew commented at 1:04 and don't play asinine games about "did bush agree to meet with khomenei" and expect us to take you seriously....
Posted by: howard | Mar 4, 2005 3:20:49 PM
"And, man, can you tell me the timetable to withdraw from Iraq - like France has wanted?"
No, I can't. But I can tell you that when Kennedy suggested we should draw down troop levels by 12,000, the hyenas immediately accused him of being an American-hating traitor. Then, directly after the election, the Bush administration announced it was going to draw down troop levels by 15,000. Sounds like they were following Kennedy's foreign policy plans.
Tho to be honest, I tend to like Kerry's foreign policy instincts more than Kennedy's.
Posted by: Tad Brennan | Mar 4, 2005 3:23:38 PM
I have two questions about Iran:
1) Is a security council resolution possible? Has Iran actually violated the non-proliferation treaty? If not, what could a resolution say that could survive a veto from Russia or China?
2) What would Iran do if the US or Israel blew up some facilities in Iran? More money for Hezbollah? Shiites killing American soldiers in Iraq? The Iraqi parliament cutting diplomatic relations with the US?
We know these negotiations aren't going to work. What is the next step?
Posted by: Andrew Booth | Mar 4, 2005 4:41:39 PM
"We know these negotiations aren't going to work. What is the next step?"
I believe Scott Ritter. He has never lied to me before.
Posted by: bob mcmanus | Mar 4, 2005 6:26:04 PM
Has Iran actually violated the non-proliferation treaty?
If they are actually seeking weapons, they have, of course, but there is no particularly conclusive evidence of that (though quite a few strong indicators; I expect they are.)
The main concrete thing that we want them to give up -- enrichment -- is explicitly allowed. We'd like them to stop, because we believe their program is military.
Posted by: cmdicely | Mar 4, 2005 6:49:50 PM
MY wrote:
conventional wisdom in the hawkosphere
Huh! Don't you mean conventional smearing / pandering from the hawkosphere?
If the hawkosphere doesn't like what Bush is doing now, where's the hawkoshpere reaction against it?
Sing one tune during election time, sing another after. And you can't assume you know what's up behind closed doors. Whatever Bush et al.'s true intentions are in mideast policy, I'm sure hawkworld knows of it and is just fine with it, and won't get shook up by Bush's gestures for the public.
I just think that what Kerry said he would have done, he would have done, and that to the extent Bush's actions post-election look like Kerry rather than Ares, it's just because to that extent, those actions from Bush are a farce.
I refuse to believe that the Iraq war was fought over some incredibly huge Keystone Kops mix-up about WMDs. That war was intentional, and the neocon plan will continue to be implemented to the extent it keeps turning out to be feasible for them to do it.
Posted by: Swan | Mar 4, 2005 7:14:55 PM
Seeking weapons is a violation?
How is that verified, by psychic?
What concrete actions is Iran not allowed to take that there is evidence Iran took?
If there are no such actions, is it possible for the US to get a resolution? What could the resolution say?
If there will not be a resolution, will be the result of a non-resolution strike on Iran's facilities?
If enrichment is allowed, and there is no way for the US to get sanctions, and strikes may be too expensive, how is it possible for the US to prevent Iran from getting a bomb?
Posted by: Andrew Booth | Mar 4, 2005 9:26:37 PM
Why is Yglesias taking Reff seriously?
" The continual isolation of Syria (soon to be surrounded by a Christian, a Jewish, a Turkish, and a Sh'ia state) should pay dividends, both reducing Hizb'allah's military and financial support, and crippling the last outpost of Baathist tyranny in the Middle East."
WHAT CHRISTIAN STATE???? AMERICAN OCCUPIED IRAQ?
If Reff means Lebanon, a country which is 30% Christian (cf. 38% Sunni)... one hopes he understands that the Druze are not the same as Christians. If he thinks the path to democracy is that Lebanon's Christian's run the copuntry in some sort of bizarrely fixed dominant coalitional role with, say, the Shia....
I don't know -- the basic point is that mastery of basic facts ought to be a necessary, even if not sufficient, prerequisite to bloviating, even if one should not expect that from someone who views Reagan as having played a major role in the downfall of a system -- Soviet communism -- that America's left and right had each long argued was internally contradictory and doomed to failure.
Posted by: Jeff | Mar 7, 2005 9:21:00 AM
Bandes programmes et musique t'attendent avec les filles les plus jolies que le r�seau...
telecharger logiciel logiciel kit faire part logiciel pour faire des faire part telecharger logiciel montage logiciel de faire part de mariage gratuit logiciel architecte interieur logiciel gratuit ses faire part de mariage logiciel gratuit architecte creative webcam logiciel logiciel gps a925 logiciel telecharger gratuit logiciel architecte 3d 1997 logiciel telecharger gratuitement carte visite telecharger logiciel boursier logiciel faire part de mariage logiciel gratuit immobilier partage reseau logiciel logiciel imprimer carte visite logiciel gratuit partage logiciel gratuit faire part logiciel gratuit webcam telecharger logiciel emule architecte logiciel gratuit logiciel educatif telecharger logiciel pret immobilier logiciel creative webcam telechargement logiciel webcam philips t logiciel navigateur gps logiciel creation faire part avec photo logiciel mac logiciel osx bas prix crack and logiciel logiciel de mix de music logiciel and fax and gratuit logiciel gestion mac logiciel creer music logiciel de mix en francais logiciel tuner tv logiciel gratuit enregistrer mix crack logiciel qurb logiciel fax pour adsl logiciel gestion facturation stock logiciel gratiut gestion stock logiciel fax ip logiciel creation tv logiciel fax modem sagem logiciel diaporama photo sur tv comparatif logiciel fax crack logiciel graphite logiciel gestion stock magasin logiciel mozilla sire fax logiciel gravure cd r download logiciel adn mac logiciel and and mp3 and music logiciel mix audio logiciel tv adsl logiciel morgane coiffure gestion stock vente logiciel gestion stock logiciel ecriture math logiciel ciel belgique logiciel ciel independant logiciel microsoft windows 2000 telechargement logiciel math logiciel faire son jeu online logiciel caisse boulangerie telecharger le logiciel microsoft excel crack logiciel miao logiciel and crack and code logiciel microsoft office onenote 2003 logiciel formule math logiciel ciel association 2006 logiciel math college logiciel gravure gratuit telecharger francais logiciel microsoft word 2003 logiciel caisse magasin publisher 2003 microsoft logiciel cd rom crack logiciel gestion immobiliere logiciel telecharger crack logiciel restaurant stock caisse collectivite logiciel facturation electricite gmao logiciel gratuit logiciel de microsoft works gratuit xlsoft.fr logiciel caisse logiciel carte son logiciel microsoft money revendeur logiciel ciel logiciel facturation garage auto emule logiciel gratuit logiciel and cao logiciel corection son logiciel de messagerie instantanee astuce msn logiciel msn emule logiciel diaporama video vcd logiciel telecharge gratuit logiciel cao dao cad logiciel decompression msn version 7.5 tous les logiciel de cao logiciel emule plus gratuit logiciel meegos msn comparer logiciel messagerie empty.htm logiciel cao dao sketchup sketchup.ht logiciel diaporama photo numerique access logiciel formation logiciel gratuis cao logiciel and diaporama and photo and numerique logiciel astuce msn logiciel montage diaporama emule gratuit logiciel logiciel p2p qui rapide logiciel traduction francais anglais assistant personnel logiciel cartographie delinquance logiciel pour amplifier le son comparatif logiciel messagerie warez download gratuit logiciel p2p logiciel and diaporama logiciel pour couper du son musique film gratuite ecouter et enregistrer musique musique partagee yahoo musique note musique cite musique mixer musique telecharger and musique and gratuite and site musique et video gratuite musique gratuite telecharge musique celtique ecouter musique orientale creer musique musique relaxation gratuite telecharger musique karaoke musique gratuite ecouter musique gospel telecharger gratuit musique ecouter les musique de dessin anime musique ecouter gratuitement sur net top 50 musique ecouter musique roxette musique gratuite telecharger sur mp3 telecharger and musique and musique mp3 gratuit ecouter la musique slai musique a ecouter en ligne musique ligne gratuite musique telecharger musique instrument musique du film jeu interdit logiciel pour mixer musique parole de chanson et de musique chanson parole et musique logiciel de musique gratuit piano numerique instrument de musique partition and musique musique arabe mp3 partition musique classique telecharger musique a telecharger sur mp3 logiciel creer partition musique gratuit batterie instrument de musique film musique partition musique clavier parole de musique de film telecharger mp3 musique instrument de musique arabe chargement musique mp3 musique du film pour la peau d un flic parole de musique etrangere parole de musique de wallen musique de film partition parole musique traduction vente partition musique parole sans musique musique africaine mp3 parole de musique celine dion parole de musique de disney logiciel de composition de musique dvd musique electronique logiciel pour couper de la musique yamaha musique musique arabe egyptienne telechargement musique classique logiciel de musique creation a couter la musique arabe coeur musique classique telechargement musique dvd karaoke musique clip amine musique clip gratuit lunch musique video clip telecharger musique arabe sur telephone portable musique arabe et orientale dvd musique africaine chaine musique arabe rotana ripper musique dvd acheter de la musique classique cd musique traditionnelle russe cd photo musique alain faure cd musique logiciel p2p musique telecharger gratuitement video clip musique house techno logiciel gratuit remix musique musique classique mozart musique telechargement cd musique dvd logiciel musique midi chanson musique arabe ecouter extrait musique classique musique pub voiture composer musique portable festival musique country france musique and jeu and video musique de techno gratuite musique pub vittel telecharger video et musique telechargement musique et video gratuite musique pub scenic musique pub mp3 telecharge musique sur portable musique marocaine daoudi musique polyphoniques de portable chart france musique musique sur video telechargement musique video musique publicite france telecom videos.nrj.fr video musique trk 1 musique pub peugeot musique chaabi marocaine musique generique tour france 2005 nivea pub tv musique publicite dedicace en musique portable musique marocaine gratuite musique france centre indre clion 36700 producteur musique africaine italie musique publicite tv france telecom video musique portable telechargement musique portable sfr frequence radio france musique latina caliente model latina booty pic hard.jpg ebony and latina girl latina porn big ass hot latina anal barbie latina latina interracial porn latina porn site web porn latina mpeg free hot latina pussy busty latina babes free latina porn vids anal fat latina hot latina moms picture of latina nude model latina porn video latina sex studio latina porn links sample latina free porn horny latina maid latina eating pussy free latina pic phat latina pussy latina pussy toying latina maid porn busty latina milf black ebony fuck horny latina vids fat latina fuck latina sample movie free ivory and ebony fantasy latina x latina anal hardcore diego escort in latina san dirty hoe latina ebony free fuck video free latina lesbian pic young latina gallery ebony fuck hardcore sexy latina mami latina group fuck amateur las latina vegas video latina sucking cum free latina sex teen escort houston in latina sexy latina cam ebony face fuck ebony fuck hose in pantie eight street latina america de historia latina photo amateur appareil photo argentique canon eos 700 appareil photo argentique nikon occasion livre photo cewe labo photo numerique mod�le photo x photo star nu logiciel photo numerique developper photo numerique appariel photo numerique livre ouvert photo photo de nu erotique editeur livre photo comparer tirage photo numerique photo porno galerie gratuite photo suceuse porno photo livre jungle photo femme nu gratuit photo nu appareil photo numerique pas cher bonne caliter developpement appareil photo numerique appareil photo reflex argentique pentax photo bas erotique developpement photo moins cher photo numerique canon photo de sport sexy photo volee de paparazzi photo volee de couple appareil photo reflex canon canon eos 500 photo de fille de charme sexe photo site charme mod�le photographe photo sexy de madonna photo volee dans le metro photo charme talon aiguille appareil photo reflex canon ae1 program gratuit photo gay photo nu gay photo volee farmer galerie photo sex gratuite album photo coeur photo volee star gratuit photo volee petite culotte photo sex agadir sex zoophile photo creer album photo numerique photo amateur nu free gay photo alizee photo volee nu
Posted by: corimbo | Sep 13, 2006 8:31:50 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
