Wonder why French President Nicolas Sarkozy seemed so angry during his big UN speech? It’s because he got sold out by President Obama. Charles Krauthammer has the behind the scenes details of what went on in New York:
Unknown to the world, Obama had in his pocket explosive revelations about an illegal uranium enrichment facility that the Iranians had been hiding near Qom. The French and the British were urging him to use this most dramatic of settings to stun the world with the revelation and to call for immediate action.
Obama refused. Not only did he say nothing about it, but, reports Le Monde, Sarkozy was forced to scrap the Qom section of his speech. Obama held the news until a day later — in Pittsburgh. I’ve got nothing against Pittsburgh (site of the G-20 summit), but a stacked-with-world-leaders Security Council chamber, it is not.
Why forgo the opportunity? Because Obama wanted the Security Council meeting to be about his own dream of a nuclear-free world. The president, reports The New York Times citing “White House officials,” did not want to “dilute” his disarmament resolution “by diverting to Iran.”
“Smart” diplomacy. They keep using that word. I do not think it means what they think it means.
“When France chides you for appeasement, you know you’re scraping bottom. ”
Can’t add anything to that.
It’s no secret that one of the reasons people voted for him is he would make our enemies like us better. If that means screwing your friends and your own country, so be it.
He has a mandate.
What worries me is that President Obama seems to want to explore each and every perk of being President – and even event a few new ones – before he becomes “King of the World”.
He’s done the UN thing – a space shuttle trip has to be on the list somewhere.
I’m curious about that word “forced”. If Sarkozy had mentioned it, what would have been the consequence?