I guess we’re all appeasers now

July 16, 2008

Two months ago yesterday, George W. Bush addressed the Israeli Knesset, and suggested that those who support negotiations with Iran are guilty of “appeasement,” equivalent to those who were reluctant to confront Hitler in 1939. The remarks were quickly embraced and amplified by John McCain, who insisted that Barack Obama’s willingness to talk to our enemies is evidence of his alleged naivete.

For an experienced and naive rube, Obama seems to have inspired Republican leaders. Yesterday, McCain adopted Obama’s Afghanistan policy as his own, and today, the Bush administration will join high-level talks with Iran for the first time, just as Obama has been talking about for a long while.

The decision by the Bush administration to send a senior American official to participate in international talks with Iran this weekend reflects a double policy shift in the struggle to resolve the impasse over the country’s nuclear program..

First, the Bush administration has decided to abandon its longstanding position that it will only meet face-to-face with Iran after it first suspends uranium enrichment as demanded by the United Nations Security Council.

Second, it infuses the negotiating track between Iran on the one side and the six global powers – France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and the United States — on the other with new importance, even though their official stance is that no substantive talks can begin until the uranium enrichment stops.

The Europeans and Russians have been urging the Bush administration to join the discussions, but the White House resisted. Now, fortunately, the administration is sending William Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, to participate in the meeting.

I guess we’re all appeasers now.

Needless to say, this will likely have an effect on the presidential campaign.

McCain has been arguing, vehemently, against diplomacy with Iran. McCain actually ratcheted up the rhetoric after Iran’s recent missile tests. Obama has pressed for a new round of diplomacy.

Bush, at this point, seems to think Obama’s right.

In fact, just yesterday, we learned that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would attend the U.N. General Assembly in September, prompting far-right activists and the McCain campaign to re-emphasize Obama’s willingness to engage Iran in diplomacy. McCain campaign Internet guru Patrick Hynes said, in anticipation of Ahmadinejad’s visit, “Perhaps he and Senator Obama can finally have that heart to heart.”

These attacks, needless to say, get a little tougher when the Bush administration is acting on Obama’s calls for negotiations. This is especially true given that the Bush administration also followed Obama’s perspective on North Korea, rejecting McCain’s policy, and it bore fruit.

Now, it’s certainly possible that administration officials will go, the discussions won’t be especially productive, and Bush and McCain will announce, “See? Diplomacy doesn’t work. The bombing will begin in….”

But in a purely political context, this isolates McCain, and makes him appear even more extreme. We tried belligerence and saber-rattling, and matters worsened. Now, among those who want more diplomacy are Bush’s White House, Bush’s State Department, Bush’s Pentagon, and the Obama campaign. Is McCain prepared to say that everyone is weak except for him? Is McCain ready to denounce George W. Bush and Barack Obama as “appeasers”?

I doubt it.

Oh dear — this is just another sign of how Obama will be a third Bush term.

  • Now, it’s certainly possible that administration officials will go, the discussions won’t be especially productive, and Bush and McCain will announce, “See? Diplomacy doesn’t work. The bombing will begin in….”

    But in a purely political context, this isolates McCain, and makes him appear even more extreme. We tried belligerence and saber-rattling, and matters worsened.

    Um, no. If the election were being held next week then yes, this would leave McCain with a bit of an eggy face and he’d have the rug torn out from under him.

    OTOH, if this is just an excuse to check the box marked “diplomacy” before launching a war, then it plays right into McCain’s pocket. The administration sends diplomats, Iran doesn’t immediately lay down and die when ordered to, and the administration comes back with “well we tried it Obama’s way and it didn’t work”. And then they go about the next step in ginning up the war they want – possibly even in time to use it as a propaganda backdrop for the national conventions.

    Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the Bush administration is actually engaging in good faith negotiations with Iran in order to tone down the aggression and start making some progress on turning down the chaos in the region. And perhaps when I get home tonight there will be a pony waiting for me on my doorstep – perhaps a pink one! Anything can happen after all.

  • I’m skeptical, too. My bet is the Bush administration is hoping for the slightest whiff of insubordination on the part of Iran, some remark that’s just vaguely threatening enough to run with. Then they’ll turn it into a Bush/Rush/FOX/blog talking point/chant/rant in hopes of making Obama look foolish.

    It’s the only reason these assholes would even consider it.

  • True to form, McCain will deny what he said earlier, the press with it’s mancrush won’t call him on it, the goal posts will be moved and Obama will be the PR looser.

  • Why does Bushit hate the troops so? I say lets get that noodle head who Chris Matthews grilled about his lack of knowing what appeasement meant and the context Chamberlain used it before WW2 and give him a second chance to get a pee ring…

  • The cynic in me thinks they are manufacturing something for Bush and McCain disagree about….

  • The fastest way to lower the price of oil worldwide is to reduce tensions with Iran and begin negotiations. Iran is the number 4 oil producer in the world (even bigger than ANWAR and Outer Continental Shelf Resources combined) and the market would respond well to the idea that supply will not be suddenly crimped. Drivers would feel the effects of peace at the local pump quite quickly.

  • McCain’s “Coalition of Forever War Appeasers” is shrinking. Maybe he just needs more Viagra….

  • The fastest way to lower the price of oil worldwide is to reduce tensions with Iran and begin negotiations.

    Absolutely. This is part of the reason that I’m skeptical that the Bush administration is willing to negotiate with Iran in good faith.

  • The fastest way to lower the price of oil worldwide is to reduce tensions with Iran and begin negotiations.

    Which is a point Obama needs to start hitting McCain and Bush on hard. After last weeks war of words and competing war games/missle tests the price of oil shot up $10 a barrel.

    He needs to keep repeating how the Bush/McCain strategy in the Middle East is hitting people square in the pocket book. Don’t just talk about the money we’re pooring down the drain in Iraq, also talk about $140 a barrel oil.

    Gas prices have been ranking among the top three concerns on voters minds for the past couple of weeks. This is a way to shift the debate away from drilling.

  • Don’t underestimate Bush’s power to generate headlines in his effort to help McCain. I have no doubt he’ll announce some “breakthrough” in Iraq in October that makes it possible to adopt a troop drawdown plan and claim it was all caused by the surge, as a method of arguing that Obama’s withdrawal plan has been renedered moot and the use-force-first policy worked.

    He may well do the same thing in Iran. Wait until October and announce that the six party vs. one talks have resulted in a breakthrough proving that out “tough” stance worked.

  • Back in May 23, the NY Times released an editorial that showed Bush’s 2 for 1 snub:

    “Everybody knew President Bush was aiming at Senator Barack Obama last week when he likened those who endorse talks with “terrorists and radicals” to appeasers of the Nazis. But now we know what Mr. Bush knew then — that Israel is in indirect peace talks with Syria, a prominent member of Mr. Bush’s list of shunned nations — and it seems as if the president was going for a two-for-one in his crack about appeasement.”

  • I take the cynical view of this move. Consider this.

    “We will be there to listen. We are not there to negotiate. And our long-standing principle, that Iran must halt its uranium enrichment before negotiations can take place, remains the same. It’s also been referred to as freeze-to-freeze – if they were to freeze their enrichment, then we would not move forward with the consequences of not accepting the (incentives) package, which are more sanctions,” she said.

    Perino said the meeting will serve to sharpen the contrast for the Iranian people of life under the current regime there, compared with the opportunities they could have if Iran accepts the incentives deal. And, she added, the meeting will “further clarify the consequences” if Iran does not accept the incentives.

    “What this does show is how serious we are when we say that we want to try to solve this diplomatically,” Perino said.

    Basically, Burns is there to tell the Iranians in person that it’s our way or the highway and this according to Perino is supposed to demonstrate how serious Bush is about a diplomatic solution. The predetermined failure will provide the fig leaf for taking military action with a claim of “we tried diplomacy, but the Iranians wouldn’t work with us.”

  • Ah, but the Bush administration is only “supposedly” adopting Obama’s strategy.

    Just as the Bush administration only “allegedly” changed direction and used the same strategy that Clinton used concerning North Korea.

  • Bush is a bigger Appeaser than he realizes. Condi is considering opening a diplomatic office in Tehran.

    I mean if you are gonna open an embassy type office in Tehran and send diplomats to nuclear discussions, diplomacy appeasement is sure to break out.

    Bush is losing it.

  • Is McCain prepared to say that everyone is weak except for him?

    He pretty much has already. He has stated categorically that he’s going to catch or kill bin Laden, which of course Bush hasn’t done yet, so he has already called Bush weak or stupid or both.

  • These attacks, needless to say, get a little tougher when the Bush administration is acting on Obama’s calls for negotiations.

    Um, no they don’t.

  • Is McCain prepared to say that everyone is weak except for him? — CB

    John Sidney III — strong beer. Cindy — weak beer.

    What I want to know is: Where’s Cheney? How could he have allowed all that talk about dealing with the rogue Iran up to and including a semi-consulate in Tehran?

  • how on earth will this happen i guess America need to build bridges not walls as we are seeing in this current administration hope u vote and vote wisely the world is watching you

  • It’s easier to hate if you refuse to communicate.

    Communication brings understanding and rational solutions.

  • Our foreign policy has been dominated and dictated by agents of foreign countries for too long. These policies have pushed us into senseless wars, have cost us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars while we have gained nothing but hatred of other people. We cannot afford to continue with these policies. It is time to put America first. It is time to wake-up before it is too late.

  • Diplomacy is a synonym for wussie as far as Bush is concerned. Anyone who thinks the Bush, or McCain for that matter, administration gives a rats ass about anything but their own agenda must be continual perplexed. These conservatives have started wars and run up bills worse than anyone in history. Flip Flop? How about treasonous liars? It is not cynism to assume he is not looking for cooperation, but submission.

  • Could it possibly be that Bush knows more about what is going on in Israel and their intentions of a pre-emptive strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities. The president and everyone else knows that this would do nothing but really screw things up, and is it possible that he is trying to defuse a potentially catastrophic situation? I doubt that anything that Obama says has any bearing what so ever on Bush’s actions. He is his own man (unlike Obama who’s an empty suit reading a teleprompter).

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