Posted on 10/17/2007 8:07:38 AM PDT by america4vr
In the years after 9/11, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann worked at the highest levels of the Bush administration as Middle East policy experts for the National Security Council. Mann conducted secret negotiations with Iran. Leverett traveled with Colin Powell and advised Condoleezza Rice. They each played crucial roles in formulating policy for the region leading up to the war in Iraq. But when they left the White House, they left with a growing sense of alarm -- not only was the Bush administration headed straight for war with Iran, it had been set on this course for years. That was what people didn't realize. It was just like Iraq, when the White House was so eager for war it couldn't wait for the UN inspectors to leave. The steps have been many and steady and all in the same direction. And now things are getting much worse. We are getting closer and closer to the tripline, they say.
"The hard-liners are upping the pressure on the State Department," says Leverett. "They're basically saying, 'You've been trying to engage Iran for more than a year now and what do you have to show for it? They keep building more centrifuges, they're sending this IED stuff over into Iraq that's killing American soldiers, the human-rights internal political situation has gotten more repressive -- what the hell do you have to show for this engagement strategy?' "
But the engagement strategy was never serious and was designed to fail, they say. Over the last year, Rice has begun saying she would talk to "anybody, anywhere, anytime," but not to the Iranians unless they stopped enriching uranium first. That's not a serious approach to diplomacy, Mann says. Diplomacy is about talking to your enemies. That's how wars are averted.
(Excerpt) Read more at esquire.com ...
The war with Iran started 400 days before Ronald Reagan, but the ballless wonder of a President at the time didn’t see it.
You forgot. /sarcasm
Diplomacy is about talking to your enemies.
As usual, the lefties confuse diplomacy with surrender.
This is from the June 29, 2006 broadcast of Fox News Radio’s Brian & The Judge.
“...HAYWORTH: Well, E.D., I don’t know that we need an office of Censorship. What we do need to rediscover, if you will, is a notion that I guess was borne out in World War II. Stephen Ambrose, the late biographer of Dwight Eisenhower, writes very eloquently of a situation prior to D-Day, when Ike called together the war correspondents in — in England and said, “Fellas, just thought you ought to know, we’re going to go in early June.” And Ambrose, in that wonderful biography, says to a man, the war correspondents stopped writing, and one asked, “General, why did you tell us?” And Ike responded, “Because you’re good Americans and I know you will not jeopardize the lives of fellow Americans.”
We all need to rediscover that, especially those in journalism who have taken it upon themselves to become the arbiters of what should be national security and some who argue that no, they’re really not so much citizens of the United States, now they are citizens of the world, neutral observers of the scene. That’s a strange type of reasoning here and it’s certainly — I won’t call it politically correct. I think it’s nationally suicidal.
“the ballless wonder of a President”
Carter: the first female President?
Yes, I meant the Mullahs and Imams in power. And they keep a tight rein on that power. When you can do anything you want in the name of Allah, even to the death of your own citizenry, that’s a pretty powerful tool to keep people intimidated. As for the age thing, they are busy I’m sure “educating” the youngest among them to take over and continue the regime.......
Avert this!
Ishaq:327 “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’”
"Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be humbled." Sura 9:29
Sura 9:5 of the “Koran,” “Slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.”
Which parts of these words of mohamhead-n-satanallah are you having trouble understanding?
Let's negotiate.
‘swhat old age will do to you...
The left WANT AMERICA brought to her knees because they DETEST Bush so much!!!!
Yup. Talking did the Brits a lot of good when they tried to negotiate peace with Herr Hitler.
Talking worked great with the Japanese as well.
You what works well when you’re talking to your enemies: The knowledge that you will come down on them like a large hammer on an anvil if you have to do so, if and when talks fail. A large cocked pistol of the table, so to speak, is a great impetus to successful negotiations.
BTW, I stopped reading “Esquire” years ago. It used to be edited for men. Now it’s produced for hand wringing wimps who love to get manicures.
Thanks for the lecture, Mr. Neville Chamberlain.
Hillary Mann is the wife of Flynt Leverett.
Levertt has worked for Brookings, a lib thinkless tank.
Don’t worry. You remind me and I’ll remind you and that should keep us both out of the home.
Thank God we got to talk to the Nazis at Munich. Otherwise we might have had a war.
Great article. I love seeing these.
I’m sure that some will close their eyes to the glaring contradiction posed by the idea of getting a grand bargain from an Iranian agent, acting in secrecy, who’s afraid their own government will kill their family and torture them, but people who gloss over that are already dead to me anyway.
Laying the case for war with Iran is like most other political endeavors, repetition, repetition, repetition.
Thank you, Esquire, your efforts towards laying the case for war with Iran are greatly appreciated.
:-)
Thanks to the author for that bias alert, which told me to stop reading right there.
It was 444 days before Ronald Reagan.
{{{wink}}}
Diplomacy is about talking with those with whom you have differences, prior to them becoming enemies.
An Enemy is to be defeated.
There is nothing to talk to Iran about - the Iranian mullahs are implacably opposed to our way of life. That might be OK, if they had a "live and let Live" approach to co-existance.
But they don't. Victory is the only solution.
Mann is an idiot - and he has a lot of company!
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