Saturday September 2, 2006

I've Been Thinking:

Iran has just twisted us, the United States, around their proverbial finger.
Iran succeeded because the United States failed.

The United States failed to adequately understand the Iranian style of international diplomacy.
Iran undercut the United States by proposing a diplomatic alternative to sanctions.
Iran proposed exactly what the rest of the world wanted from the very outset.

Iran convinced European Union and Western diplomats that diplomacy will work.
Iran has won. Now even the EU has declared that it is time to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue.
Now everyone is chiming in, saying that it is time for negotiations.
British Foreign Minister Margaret Becket said, "Our goal remains a negotiated solution on the basis of far-reaching proposals."
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, said that "this is not the time or place for sanctions." "For the EU, diplomacy remains the No. 1 way forward." This from the country that holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

We are loosing to Iran because we do not understand their game.
The only way to win is to learn Iran's rules and then beat them at their own game.
We need to force Iran into a diplomatic dialogue and use that dialogue to force Iran into transparency.