Obama tried to retract the statement during the July 2007 YouTube debate on several occasions, at one point declaring that “preparations” would be required, if not “preconditions”. Assad shows no inclination to allowing Obama that out. He won’t end his support for Hamas and Hezbollah, two of the worst terrorist networks in the region and both proxies for Assad’s Iranian bosses. If Obama wants to talk with him, Obama has to accept the relationships with Hamas and Hezbollah. Will Obama bite? He may not have much choice. First, Syria — unlike Iran — still has diplomatic relations with the US, although strained and below the ambassadorial level. Second, Obama wants to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and having been schooled by Samantha Power and Robert Malley, won’t see Hamas (or Hezbollah) as the big problem. The big problem, according to Power and Malley, are the yahouds. Expect Obama to seek “change” by tacitly accepting the Iranian-Syrian terrorist axis of Hamas and Hezbollah in order to pursue a peace that none of the four actually want.Obama's UN ambassador: 'We look forward to direct diplomacy with Iran'
This is from an earlier post I did in which I discussed Rice.Susan Rice may be the least controversial of Obama's foreign policy advisers, but here are some more details about her that cannot give Israel's supporters comfort:
Susan Rice was John Kerry's chief foreign policy adviser when he ran for President. One of the major steps Kerry suggested for dealing with the Middle East was to appoint James Baker and Jimmy Carter as negotiators. When furor erupted at the prospect of two of the most ardent foes of Israel being suggested to basically ride "roughshod" over Israel, Kerry backtracked and blamed his staff for the idea. His staff was Susan Rice.
Isn't that great?
More on Assad's concept of 'preconditions' here.
Obama Camp Announces Talks With Iran Without Preconditions
Here's the video:
Barack Obama stuck with this precarious position throughout the campaign.It came up several times and both Senator Clinton and Senator McCain attacked him for wanting to sit down with Ahmadinejad without preconditions.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said he did not agree with Barack Obama that the President of the United States should meet with Iranian leaders without preconditions.
Today, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice restated Obama's calls for direct negotiations with Iran.
FOX News reported:President Obama did a quick pivot Monday, shifting his focus to foreign policy by contacting a handful of major world leaders -- including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nikolas Sarkozy -- as his new U.N. ambassador restated the desire for vigorous and "direct diplomacy" with Iran.
Obama spoke with the foreign leaders ahead of a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and his Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who was leaving immediately afterward for a trip to the region. Mitchell will go to Cairo, Egypt; Jersusalem, Israel; Ramallah in the West Bank; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He will also visit Paris and London.
Back in the U.S., U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who was confirmed last week for the post, said Monday that Iran's refusal to meet international obligations will increase pressure on Tehran to drop its nuclear ambitions and cooperate with the United States and global community.
Besides pursuing nuclear weapons, Iran has called for the destruction of Israel and support for Hamas, a terror group designated by the U.S., Israel and the European Union.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Rice's remarks are not a departure from statements made previously by Obama the candidate.
She merely restated the administration position that no forms of communication should be off the table with the Islamic regime.
"Whether you were on the campaign trail or not, clearly this was something that generated a lot of coverage over the past two years. And I think Ambassador Rice was simply restating the position that the president had," he said.
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz Shevat 1, 5769 / January 26, '09 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129626
(IsraelNN.com) The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, began her term Monday by dropping a not-unexpected bombshell in the UN chambers. The new US administration, she said, would engage in "direct diplomacy" with Iran. Such a policy shift away from isolating Iran, as under the previous administration, is a touchstone of President Barack Obama's foreign policy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also made that position very clear at her confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill.
"We look forward to engaging in vigorous diplomacy that includes direct diplomacy with Iran," Ambassador Rice told reporters after a private meeting with UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon. Rice (no relation to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) presented her credentials to the head of the international body earlier in the day.
"We remain deeply concerned about the threat that Iran's nuclear program poses to the region, indeed to the United States and to the entire international community," Rice said, adding the status of Iran's nuclear program is one of the Obama administration's priorities.
The ambassador further clarified that, "dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council and its continued refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase."
The pressure Rice referred to would come through "collaboration and partnership" with Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany. Together with the United States, the group, known as the "P5+1", will determine "what is necessary and appropriate with respect to maintaining pressure toward that goal of ending Iran's nuclear program," Rice said. The group is to meet in Germany in February for the next round of talks on the Iran issue.
The UN Security Council has already imposed sanctions on Iran three times over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities.
Later in the day on Monday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed that Rice's statements at the UN were in accord with President Obama's foreign policy, which he detailed as a presidential candidate. However, Gibbs added, "all elements of our national power" would be brought to bear in regard to Iran's nuclear program.
Sec. Clinton: 'Diplomacy Can Work'
In her Congressional Confirmation Hearing on January 13, 2009, the then-incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made clear the sharp turn the new administration would be taking towards diplomacy, even with Iran.
"Diplomacy will be the vanguard of our foreign policy," Clinton said, adding that "the State Department will be firing on all cylinders to provide forward-thinking, sustained diplomacy in every part of the world.... Diplomacy is hard work. But when we work hard, diplomacy can work, not just to defuse tensions, but to achieve results that advance our security interests and values."
When asked specifically about Iran, Clinton replied: "Obviously, the incoming administration views with great concern the role that Iran is playing in the world, its sponsorship of terrorism, its continuing interference with the functioning of other governments, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons. There is an ongoing policy review that the Obama administration has undertaken, but I think as the President-elect said just this past weekend, our goal will be to do everything we can, pursue through diplomacy, through the use of sanctions, through creating better coalitions with countries that we believe also have a big stake in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon power, to try to prevent this from occurring. We are not taking any option off the table, at all. But we will pursue a new, perhaps different approach that will become a cornerstone of what the Obama administration believes is an attitude towards engagement that might bear fruit."
Regarding further sanctions, Clinton said, "We're going to be making the case to members of the Security Council who have been either dubious or unwilling to cooperate up until now that a nuclear, armed Iran is in no one's interests, under any circumstances. So Mr. Chairman, it's hard to predict how successful we will be, but I promise you our very best efforts in doing all that we can to try to achieve greater international support for sanctions and actions that could actually influence the behavior of the Iranian Government, the Supreme Leader and the religious council and the Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force because, as you know so well, all of these are players. And so our task will be to try to figure out the appropriate and effective pressure that will perhaps lead to us dissuading Iran from going forward."
Asked by Senator John Kerry if the "bottom line of our security interests" for the Obama administration is that "it is unacceptable that Iran has a weapon under any circumstances, and that we will take any steps necessary to prevent that," Clinton replied, "The President-elect has said repeatedly it is unacceptable. It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy with all of its multitudinous tools to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state. As I also said, no option is off the table. The President-elect has been very clear that it is unacceptable, and that is our premise and that is what we are going to be basing our actions on."
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