Of course, the Iranians spit in his face. “Normalize” relations with the Great Satan? Never!
It should also come as no surprise that the Israelis were not pleased with the president’s advances toward Iran.
Soon after he took office, President Barack Obama began a process ultimately designed to reestablish full US diplomatic relations with Iran, including a reopening of embassies, an Israeli daily reported Sunday. The initiative, part of a wider shift in America’s diplomatic orientation, aimed at reaching understandings with Tehran over suspending its nuclear program, Maariv claimed, citing “two Western diplomats very close to the administration.”
The initiative led to at least two US-Iran meetings, the report said. Israel was made aware of the contacts, and opposed them.
But Iran rebuffed the “diplomatic hand” offered by the White House, Maariv reported. The Islamist regime “opposed any sign of normalization with the US, and refused to grant a ‘prize’ to the Americans,” according to an anonymous Israeli source quoted by the paper.
The information — the lead item on Maariv’s front page, headlined “Obama offered to renew relations with Iran” — comes on the heels of reports earlier this month that the US and Iran held back channel contacts toward establishing direct talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. Both the White House and Iran denied those reports.
According to Maariv, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met with chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili for an hour in 2009, and one other meeting between officials from both sides took place as well.
Included in the diplomatic incentives package offered by Washington would be, in the first stage, the opening of interest sections in Washington and Tehran, with the possibility subsequently of expanding to full diplomatic ties, including US and Iranian embassies and ambassadors in each other’s capitals, Maariv claimed.
It’s hard to know just what the administration was thinking with this outreach. Were they stupid enough to think that Iran would make a nuclear deal more readily if we dangled the prospect of Iranian diplomats being able to party in Washington again?
Just another reason not to re-elect this naive president.
“It’s hard to know just what the administration was thinking with this outreach.”
No, it’s not. Obama was trying to secure his legacy. Opening up Iran, in the view of Barack Hussein Jarrett, was the same as opening up China. This would be his ‘Nixon Moment’.
Of course, this is pure political infantilism. But it explains why he threw the Greens under the bus.
I think it is at least reasonable to assume that this would have been without Iran paying any claims from the 1979 embassy takeover, or compensating or apologizing to the United States government for the diplomatic insult.
What is it about Democrats allowing Muslims to do as they will to our embassies? And cracking down harder on our own than those who attacked us (our government told the Iran hostages they could not sue Iran)?
“Were they stupid enough to think that Iran would make a nuclear deal more readily if we dangled the prospect of Iranian diplomats being able to party in Washington again?”
They figured that if they pulled it off, they would be hailed as visionaries, and even if they failed, Israel would get the message that the Cairo speech was in fact Obamee’s foreign policy reality.
As usual, it was all about pulling Netanyahu’s tail. Odd thing to do to our “most important ally”.
Obama was just channeling his inner Woodrow Wilson, and, like Wilson, Failed.
But isn’t Biden long-time best friends with Bibi???
Bibi and Mitt Romney are old friends. Contrast this picture with any of Bibi and Obama:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/romney-and-netanyahu-old-friends-now-at-center-of-iran-nuke-debate/
One more reason why I find it incomprehensible that any thinking Jewish person would vote for ObamaRx.
Smart Diplomacy. Disrespect and ignore our friends, and cravenly appease our enemies.