Bush in the State of the Union:
“We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing, and end its support for terror.”
Condi Rice, less than 24 hours later:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the United States would rebuff European efforts to bring it into negotiations with Iran aimed at preventing the Islamic state from developing nuclear weapons.
This kind of dumb cop, bad cop style of diplomacy isn’t in anyone’s interest. The world heard Bush’s address and probably concluded that when he said we’ll be working with Europe on negotiations with Iran, he meant it. Alas, it was hollow rhetoric.
Maybe the White House is embarrassed by the fact that Britain, France, and Germany are leading the way in Iranian negotiations, while Bush is left waiting to see what they come up with instead of playing a direct role. Or maybe the White House wants to see the talks fail — which is more likely with the United States avoiding the negotiating table — so it would be easier to justify military action. As Fred Kaplan noted this week, Bush “wants to change the regime, not deal with it, even if that means Iran ends up a nuclear power.”
Even yesterday, Rice did little to explain why she was contradicting Bush’s SOTU and why the administration was so opposed to participating in talks, saying only that Tehran “know[s] what they need to do.” Maybe so, but how about showing some leadership, stepping up to the plate, and playing a role in the negotiations? Our allies want us at the table, Bush seems to believe we’re already at the table, so why not grab a chair?