Condi puts the cart before the horse

Posted by Robert Knake | 4 Comments

I had a very short career as an NCAA athlete. I joined the diving team my freshman year of college. This was a mistake. I was never going to be a very good diver. In athletics, finesse has never been my strong suit. Strength and speed were the assets I relied on as a highschool wrestler and soccer and lacrosse player. Diving requires neither of these. In this short career as a diver, I hurt myself an awful lot. I had a very bad tendency to dive off the three meter board and forget to breakthrough the water with my hands instead of my face. This typically resulted in a bloody nose and a minor hazmat incident. My diving coach used to say, as he applied a large wad of cotton to my nose, “Rob, most people only piss on an electric fence once.” Of course, I was stupid and nineteen. Why the bush administration hasn’t learned this simple lesson cannot be blamed on age and inexperience.

In what can only be a public relations stunt, the administration has agreed to direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program. These are not one on one talks as Iran has requested, but in a multi-party dialogue with the so-called EU3 of France, Britain and Germany. We have been down this road before. We are in fact still going down this road with North Korea. Even more absurdely, we are once again insisting that the aleged violator of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty suspend its nuclear program before any talks begin. This gambit failed with North Korea. It will fail again with Iran.

The Bush administration treats talks with these countries like they are some sort of reward. US policy to not negotiate with terrorists has apparently morphed into a policy to not negotiate at all. “We’ll come to the table but only if you have already capitulated to our demands,” is the bottom line from Condi’s statement.

If stopping Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon is the primary goal, this strategy will not achieve it. If on the other hand, the primary goal is face-saving for the Bush administration, there is not much face to save. Yet this seems to be the priority. The Bush administration refuses to take any action which might indicate their previous approach had not worked. Thus, no bilateral talks and of course, suspending enrichment. These conditions are not likely to be accepted. They are also not likely to let the US regain ground as the moderate and reasonable party.

It is time for real negotiations. The Bush Administration must come up with what it is willing to give Iran in return for ending its nuclear ambitions. A truly grand bargain might include a security guarantee for Iran, the normalization of relations, ending all trade and currency embargoes, the return of funds frozen in the 1979 crisis, and support in joining the WTO. In addition to suspending its nuclear program, Iran should be required to recognize the state of Israel, pay remuneration to the victim families from the Khobar towers attack, and cease all support for insurgent groups operating in Iraq.

Negotiating such a deal would require a complete reversal on the part of the Bush Administration. It would be all but impossible to get Iran to meet these conditions and keep the US congress in line. To that I say, what do you think the Nobel Peace Prize is for? Certainly not the easy stuff.

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