The American Spectator

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(Page 5 of 16)

p>Follow-up -- would there be a teleprompter at these head-of-state meetings or would he be winging it? I trust his speechwriters more. br> -- George Potts /p> p> You are right on the mark. However, what we need is a Conservative LEADER to emerge. If you see one, let me know. I don't see Flip-Flop Amnesty McCain as being that Leader. If fact, I don't see much difference between him, Obama and Hillary. br> -- David Cox /p>

Why is it that conservatives have such difficulty comprehending the possibility that diplomacy is more than just telling another country what to do and them doing it? I imagine it must have something to do with their misplaced arrogant self-righteousness. If you look at matters from a more realistic viewpoint it is easy to see why some countries might be reluctant to just do, what America tells them to do. Let's take Iran for example.

In the 1950s it held free and fair election that resulted in the election of a popular President. However the polices that that President proposed did not sit so well with the U.S. oil companies so the CIA helped to organize a coup against him and installed the Shaw of Iran in his place. For the following 30 years America provided the Shaw with the military hardware he needed maintain power through force. His reign of terror being equivalent to that of Saddam's in Iraq.

After the Shah was deposed, America provided the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with military weapons (including WMDs) to fight a 10 year war with Iran, in which millions of Iranians died.

Then this Administration after calling Iran part of the Axis of Evil attacks and occupies it neighbor, all the time threatening to attack Iran and even rattling the nuclear sabre.

Given all this history is it any wonder that the Iranians don't trust America. Yet the conservatives are under the naive illusion that nothing in history matters other than Iran's current refusal to stop enhancing uranium.

p>I say let's negotiate. In the 1960's President Kennedy did a deal with Cuba and the Soviets that kept nuclear weapons out of Cuba for over 40 years. The basic terms of the deal were that in return for America promising not to attack Cuba; Cuba promised not to install nuclear weapons. Imagine if we could do that same deal with Iran and prevent Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons. Now that is something worth negotiating for and that we could never achieve through sabre rattling. br> --

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