House Conservatives Endorse Direct, Unconditional Talks With Iran
House Conservatives Endorse Direct, Unconditional Talks With Iran
Twelve conservative House Republicans have written a letter to President Bush backing unconditional direct talks with Iran, and warning that the United States should “not allow a disagreement over pre-conditions to scuttle negotiations before they have the chance to begin.â€
The letter pointedly notes that the “‘no negotiation’ stance has not yielded positive results” — an implied indictment of the Bush policy over the last several years — and concludes by saying that “There are seldom occassions in history where a great country should fear dialogue with a potential adversary.”
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice recently announced that the Bush administration would participate in direct negotiations with Iran — but only if Iran first agreed to suspend uranium enrichment. Many experts doubt whether that offer will be sufficient. Kenneth Katzman, an Iran expert at the Congressional Research Service, told Laura Rozen:
“I don’t think the Iranians are going to accept this. The U.S. didn’t offer any concrete concessions. All the U.S. said is we would come to the table. We didn’t say what we would do at the table. There’s not enough in it for Iran.â€
The letter was signed by Reps. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), John Hostettler (R-IN), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), among others.
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That’s not how Bush operates. First he scuttles diplomacy, then goes to war when diplomacy doesn’t work.
June 14th, 2006 at 3:40 pmI’m glad to hear that it’s the conservatives urging the administration to go for direct unconditional talks. Bush may actually listen to them. Yeah, right, who am I kidding!?
June 14th, 2006 at 3:42 pmI mean, c’mon… even Regan negotiated with Iran, right?
June 14th, 2006 at 3:43 pmScott Garrett is a facist. I can’t believe he’d do anything but march in lockstep.
June 14th, 2006 at 3:46 pm#3, Roger, yeah, Reagan did, in a roundabout way (and then conveniently forgot about it!)
June 14th, 2006 at 3:47 pmUmm, so these Republicans want Iran to attack?
June 14th, 2006 at 3:48 pmDont worry….now that Rove is back in the mix they will STFU (a la Arlen Specter)
in about 3 days…………….
This is another issue the rudderless DEM party should have owned …………..
June 14th, 2006 at 3:50 pmAh, the sweet smell of chickenhawk droppings in the morning as the midterm election approaches.
June 14th, 2006 at 3:55 pmThis should be interesting because Bush and the Neocons want to bomb Iran before November elections, so those 12 are upsetting the applecart on attacking Iran!
June 14th, 2006 at 4:04 pmAs usual the neo-cons are doing exactly the opposite of what they have said in the past.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:16 pmCowards, traitors. How DARE they question the tactics of The Decider and Condi?
-GSD
June 14th, 2006 at 4:18 pmI think this is more the realization, that the US public will throw popular support for a war in Iran, no matter how much sugar you put on it. they want to keep thier cushy jobs, and anyone who supports a new war would be voted out. Add on that republicans want to get as far from bush as possible, and you have the perfect rats deserting a sinking ship situation.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:23 pmToo Late for talksIran welcome in China’s new sphere
Rowan Callick, China correspondent
June 13, 2006
IRAN’S controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is flying to Shanghai tomorrow to take part in a summit that will seal China’s plans to lead an Asian rival to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation – whose meeting has forced the shutdown of much of the city this week – is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and is preparing to expand its membership well beyond the present China, Russia and four strategic central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui refused at a briefing yesterday to disclose the countries that wished to become observers or full members, beyond saying: “A lot of countries in Asia and other continents have applied, demonstrating the SCO is broadening its influence.”
Other leaders who will attend the summit include the presidents of Pakistan and Mongolia – formal observer states, like Iran and India – and Afghanistan.
Most of the members share a huge potential – and, in China’s case, an appetite – for increased energy production. India is sending its Oil and Gas Minister.
In the past, they have also shared a focus on combating Islamist terror. But Iran’s participation in this summit and its eagerness to become a full member appear to point the organisation in a different direction: a corral of countries capable of countering Western influence.
Mr Li, while claiming the organisation was “very transparent”, was unable to disclose items on the agenda. He said he had not been briefed on whether China, Russia and Iran would discuss separately the current international controversy over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “To China, this is one of the most important diplomatic events of this year. The organisation is developing and getting stronger,” he said.
President Hu Jintao will chair the summit.
The group’s foreign and defence ministers and parliamentary speakers have already held meetings this year, as the pace of enmeshment accelerates. The organisation’s members have begun holding joint military exercises, most recently in March in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and next year in Russia.
Such exercises are “crucial for combat against the three evil forces”, said Mr Li – separatism, terrorism and extremism.
Last week SCO secretary-general Zhang Deguang told journalists in Beijing, when questioned about the participation of Iran: “We cannot abide other countries calling our observer nations sponsors of terror. We would not have invited them if we believed they sponsored terror.”
The SCO’s charter speaks of creating “a new international political and economic order”.
David Wall, a research associate for Cambridge University’s East Asia Institute, wrote recently in The Japan Times that the SCO states’ “only common denominators are a communist past or present, and autocratic to ruthless dictatorial governments”. He said it had become “an important multilateral institution of global geopolitical significance”. At last year’s summit, Beijing and Moscow initiated discussion about the fate of American bases in central Asia. The resulting statement said: “As the active military phase in the anti-terror operation in Afghanistan is nearing completion, it is time to decide on the deadline for the use of temporary infrastructure and for their military contingents’ presence” in member countries.
Uzbekistan has since asked the US military to leave but Kyrgyzstan continues to host a base.
Through the SCO, China has developed connections that will ensure at least some of the massive oil and gas reserves in central Asia flow east and not west. It has extended loans and made growing investments in the “-stan” economies, as part of its careful cultivation of the region, and is stepping up its purchases of Iranian oil, this year reaching 13per cent of all its oil imports.
Mr Hu and President Saparmurat Niazov of Turkmenistan, a country not yet in the SCO, recently signed an agreement on a pipeline to take gas to China via Uzbekistan.
A gas pipeline is also being built from Kazakhstan to China. And China is building a railway linking Uzbekistan to its own western Xinjiang province, passing through Kyrgyzstan.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:23 pmYes post 13 > that is why Bush attacking Iran would set off WWIII, because they are friends with the Chinese and have a defense pact with them!
June 14th, 2006 at 4:30 pmCorrect me if I am wrong, but won’t the Us eventually get marginized out of world politics if we continue on the path of “preemptive war”?
June 14th, 2006 at 4:31 pmmeant to say marginalized by bad sorry.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:32 pmif you think about it also Iraq would want to join the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation when america finally leaves
Watching the news tonight and in the hospitals in Iraq there are no medicines , people are having legs amputated with no anesthetic or anything
Americans have been blowing up the chemists and burning all the stockpiles of medicines
Against the geneva convention I might add – - – — WHY
June 14th, 2006 at 4:33 pmIs it me, or is this happening more and more? The GOP seems to have broken completely from the President on nearly every issue.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:41 pmBush’s popularity is in the toilet Rick, plus he won’t be up for reelection, so they don’t need to toe the line whith him.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:45 pmIs it me, or is this happening more and more? The GOP seems to have broken completely from the President on nearly every issue.
Comment by Rick — June 14, 2006 @ 4:41 pm
Simple math, really.
ush’s approval rating at 33% + mid-term elections in November = Republicans putting away rubber stamp and pretending they have a spine.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:48 pmSHANGHAI, China, June 14–Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday for the summit of a regional security group, a visit that could indicate whether the forum will evolve into an anti-US bloc.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:55 pmThe Shanghai Cooperation Organization says it isn’t aimed at any third parties. Yet its dominant members, China and Russia, are frequently at odds with Washington and have resisted US efforts to seek tougher UN action in the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, AP reported.
Although host China has said the Iranian nuclear issue won’t be on the agenda when the summit begins Thursday, the issue is expected to arise in separate meetings between Ahmadinejad and Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the forum’s fringes.
Analysts say a warm reception for Ahmadinejad would strengthen perceptions of the organization as a new challenge to Washington’s interests, particularly in light of the decade-old grouping’s efforts to strengthen its influence over security and economic affairs.
Observers will also be looking for other signs of strengthening SCO-Iran relations, including possible steps to move Tehran from observer status to formal membership.
Even without formal membership, Iran’s presence within the SCO has changed outside perceptions of the group.
“Iran’s participation will attract additional attention to the SCO, will increase its clout,“ said Venera Galyamova of the Center for China research in Kazakhstan.
Russia and China deny Iran’s presence indicates a hidden agenda for the summit and portray the SCO as a neutral force focused on security and trade.
The six-nation SCO was set up 10 years ago to deal with border disputes, but it has slowly expanded its reach into counterterrorism, defense, energy and economic cooperation.
The SCO’s other members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan, Mongolia and India are also attending as observers, while Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai is a special guest at the meeting.
Love Neil youngs song “lets Impeach the President”
“War is my last choice”
No Talking is Bushes last choice obviously
June 14th, 2006 at 4:58 pmThe difference between the conservatives and the neo-cons is that the conservatives have not de-evolved entirely back into chimpanzees… Not until November 8th anyway.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:59 pmTobey Tall
I’ve kind of been saying China is the big threat for years. Ask any manufacturer who they fear more, China, or Al Qaeada. China understands the times we are in, Bin Laden? He’s a folk hero but ultimately, meaningless. A fly on history’s windscreen. All of those millions of skilled Chinese workers, who work for less then any westener considers slave wages? They are a force to be reckoned with. They aren’t the guys who will get into the history books, but they are the guys who will work the printing press.
June 14th, 2006 at 4:59 pmYes its time for the american empire to fall , which is no bad thing sometimes i can be tenfold beneficial as in germany after world war 2
Its like a thunderstorm after a few muggy days
I was reading earlier that dropping a Nuke on Iran will only turn the world more away from america , Japan for instance would remember the bombs dropped on them and cash in the dollar ( Americas second biggest debtor )
Other countries will not want American bases on their soil
June 14th, 2006 at 5:09 pmThe Bush strategy, negotiate with Iran, but only on the White House terms(i.e. unconditional surrender by Iran), then whether they comply or not, invade and occupy another member of the “axis of evil” bringing about “regime change”, and “democracy” to Iran (for their own good of course and our oil under their sand). Sarcasm off.
June 14th, 2006 at 5:15 pmSo how many Democrats signed? Is there a reason why they wouldn’t?
June 14th, 2006 at 5:17 pmNon-aligned states to back Iran
America had hoped support by the 15 NAM nations on the 35-member IAEA board would help Washington and the European Union deflect Iranian assertions it is being bullied by powerful countries bent on denying the Islamic state nuclear energy.
NAM countries are worried that making Iran abandon its nuclear fuel enrichment plans would set a precedent preventing other developing states pursuing an atomic energy option.
Everybody wants Nuclear fuel now the french are giving it to Libya
June 14th, 2006 at 5:26 pmBrazils getting it
Australia is starting up when it has 40% of the worlds uranium
Syria and Saudi Arabia nuclear enegy too
So how many Democrats signed? Is there a reason why they wouldn’t?
Comment by Ravel Kor — June 14, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
Probably not invited… You guys are the ones who have the “Rich Pasty Male Elitists Only’ Clubs, remember?
June 14th, 2006 at 5:30 pm#24, Bruce (and Tobey), not to mention all of the money that we have borrowed from China over the past several years. I agree with you, China is looking to the future and doing something about being in the forefront, while America is, under Bush anyway, becoming more insular, isolationist and stagnant.
June 14th, 2006 at 5:48 pmJune 14th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
#17
Comment by Tobey Tall
June 14th, 2006 at 9:26 pmAgainst UN laws, against The Hague pronouncements, against AI suggestions, against HRW…
WAY WAY TOO LATE FOR AN ATTACK NOW
Iran offers Shanghai bloc energy tie-up
Thursday 15 June 2006, 9:59 Makka Time, 6:59 GMT
The group says its embrace of Iran is good for regional stability
Related:
Central Asia rethinks US presence
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The Iranian president has offered energy co-operation to China, Russia and Central Asian countries.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the offer at a summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) on Thursday.
He was attending as one of four observer states, but his presence threatened to overshadow the meeting, upstage his hosts and irritate the United States.
“Iran is ready to further expand co-operation with SCO member states in the interest of international peace and security,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast on Chinese television.
He was speaking after leaders of the SCO’s six members, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, had assembled for the one-day summit in China’s financial capital, hoping to tighten security co-operation.
He said Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, was ready to host a meeting of energy ministers from SCO countries to explore more effective co-operation in the exploration, exploitation, transport and processing of oil and gas.
Iran is China’s third-biggest supplier of crude oil imports.
The SCO was set up out of the “Shanghai Five” which was founded in 1996 to demilitarise the border between China and the former Soviet Union.
US opposition
Iran’s inclusion in the group – albeit as an observer along with India, Pakistan and Mongolia – has particularly angered the US.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said: “It strikes me as passing strange that one would want to bring into an organisation that says it’s against terrorism one of the nations that’s the leading terrorist nation in the world.”
But leaders of China, Russia and Central Asia defended the participation of Iran, saying that the group served as a force for stability and not as an emerging anti-US bloc.
The group leaders did not directly address Tehran’s standoff with the West over Iran’s nuclear programme. But they defended the SCO’s embrace of Iran as positive for regional stability.
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