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Politics : Politics of Energy
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To: RetiredNow who wrote (6363)3/20/2009 6:32:50 AM
From: RetiredNow  Read Replies (4) of 86355
 
I'm pretty sure no Republican is going to like this. Obama is reaching out to Iran in a very big way. Watch this video:
whitehouse.gov

I personally think it is a master stroke of brilliant diplomacy. I've always believed that a country like ours with so much power should "Walk softly, but carry a big stick." In the case of Iran, it means we should be publicly reaching out and offering olive branches, but being hard as nails under the table in private negotiations. We shouldn't give an inch privately, but we need to cater to their ego and pride publicly. That is how the Middle Eastern/Asian mind works. They DEMAND respect, otherwise they fight. Bush never understood that. He came across as the cowboy who challenged them to a duel and he insulted them at every opportunity. The Middle Eastern mind which is full of machismo and false pride has only one option in response to that, and it's to fight. But Obama's approach of public respect, but tough negotiation behind the curtain is exactly the right way to go. It doesn't give the leaders of Iran any ammunition to condemn Obama with publicly. It confuses the leaders and it warms the people to the US. That's an excellent combination to soften up Iran before coming to the negotiation table. That also significantly weakens Achmadenijad's ability to get re-elected on hard line anti-US rhetoric.

Now let's see if Obama gets the other half of the equation right. I said he's doing the right thing publicly, but will he be a tough negotiator behind the scenes? Will he hold the line on Iran's nuclear weapons ambition? If he can defuse that time bomb behind the scenes and bind Iran tighter to us publicly, then we have a winner.

I did notice that he continues to apply the stick behind the scenes, even as he extends the olive branch publicly. So that is a good sign that he's playing the double game that is required in the Middle East/Asian world:

news.bbc.co.uk
But earlier this month he extended sanctions against Iran for a year, saying it continues to pose a threat to US national security.
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