Speaking on the This Week program, President Obama’s Senior Adviser David Axelrod again threatened sanctions against Iran and expressed hope that the international community had “come together” against them.
But Admiral Michael Mullen is expressing concern that Iran, with the year end deadline just weeks away, has become “non-responsive,” warning that it may serve to destabilize the nation.
Just two days ago Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed willingness to deal if the international community stopped its repeated threats, a sentiment later reiterated by Foreign Minister Mottaki. Neither comments was met with much eagerness from Western officials, or indeed much acknowledgement.
With the “deadline” so close, it is possible the Iranian government sees little point in seeking new rapprochement at this late hour and considers the next round of sanctions a given. Whether this defeatist attitude carries over into future negotiations remains to be seen, but at this point the prospect of a deal doesn’t look very likely.
here we go again. military commanders playing Politicians. it is not up to Zionist Mullen to approve of an Air strike that murders Civilians or make inflammatory remarks about Iran.
Isn't it rather that Mullen is worrying about artificial time limits that make negotiations impossible and/or create a false sense of deadline panic?
Then again, he sounds slightly less insane than politicians like McCain. Mullen does engage in hyperbole to "think that the world is united and is willing". Sounds more like a Pepsi commercial!
Negotiations between the Iranian and the United States government have only occurred in the sense that negotiations occur between an armed bandit and his victim. Basically, the United States government has said to the Iranian government capitulate to all our demands or we will slowly kill you by a starvation blockade or put you out of your misery quickly by carpet bombing your population centers. There was never any interest in reaching a real compromise with the Iranian government, such as accepting the Iranian government's civilian nuclear program as legitimate in turn for stringent IAEA monitoring of that program, and a more helpful stance by the Iranian government regarding the Middle East peace process such as its endorsement of the Saudi Peace Plan. These "negotiations" were sabotaged to fail from the start. The only thing that interests Obomba and the current leadership of the US government is war, war, and more war. The people of Pakistan, Yemen, and Iran should be put on alert. They are being targeted as the next victims of the inhuman war machine of the United States government.
One can hope that the the hawks get their way and they initiate open hostilities with Pakistan, Yemen AND Iran… It would end the current chapter "HUBRIS UNLIMITED" as America's fortunes go down, down, down !!! More likely something unexpected will occur… Is Iran another TRAP the Russians have set to humble the empire like the one they sprang in Georgia..?? Remember the Moron Prince was gonna send the navy to deliver relief supplies…..but…they never got the necessary permission from our NATO ally Turkey to enter the Black Sea…….. "
* Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008
Another flub? Bush vowed Navy aid to Georgia too soon
By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — President Bush Wednesday promised that U.S. naval forces would deliver humanitarian aid to war-torn Georgia before his administration had received approval from Turkey, which controls naval access to the Black Sea, or the Pentagon had planned a seaborne operation, U.S. officials said Thursday.
As of late Thursday, Ankara, a NATO ally, hadn't cleared any U.S. naval vessels to steam to Georgia through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, the narrow straits that connect the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, the officials said. Under the 1936 Montreaux Convention, countries must notify Turkey before sending warships through the straits.
Pentagon officials told McClatchy that they were increasingly dubious that any U.S. Navy vessels would join the aid operation, in large part because the U.S.-based hospital ships likely to go, the USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy, would take weeks to arrive.
"The president was writing checks to the Georgians without knowing what he had in the bank," said a senior administration official.
"The president got out in front of the planning when he talked publicly about using naval forces," said a second senior administration official. "At that point we need to look at treaty obligations, our bilateral relations with the Turks and others, waterway restrictions and what kind of ships might be appropriate and usable — something like the Comfort or something already in the Med (Mediterranean).' …… SURPRISE…!!!! I wonder what surprises lurk in the Persian Gulf………..
Why would any respectable and sovereign nation wish to deal with the hawks in dove feathers a.k.a. Obamites? These people are mad. The march of folly continues as preterxt, i.e.the "war on terror." At a cost of $57,077.60/minute for the surge, I think we can all see why empires fail, spending their way into economic oblivion.
Of course, the logical question is, why is there a deadline?
The only accusation that I've seen is that the Iranians are building a currently empty site that someday might enrich uranium. But that doesn't mean there's any reason for immediate deadlines. Since the IAEA continually says that there's no evidence of Iran doing anything that might lead to a bomb, there's no logical reason for such deadlines.
Of course, the only reason for the deadlines is US domestic politics.
Bush used to always threaten war and issue terror alerts every holiday season. So nice to see Obama continuing on these wonderful holiday traditions.
For entertainment, go read a book called "Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich" Author's name is Wiliam Shirer I believe. An American correspondent who was in Germany all through the 1930's.
Read about Hitler's negotiation techniques. This went on several times in Europe. Over the Rhineland, over Austria, twice over Czechoslovakia, then finally over Poland.
Hitler would always start by stating his demands, then he would always impose a deadline. 'Negotiations' were always backed up by continual threats to attack and the massing of troops to look like it would do so. Any compromise or attempt to negotiate to reach an agreement were ignored. If the opposition publicly gave any ground to attempt to compromise, Hitler would increase his demands. But what Hitler called 'negotiations' were really 'ultimatums' that the other side had to meet or else.
Sound familiar?
"Sound familiar? "…. Damn straight it sounds familiar. I've mentioned this very tactic time and again and see it at work right now as it was done before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Nothing new under the sun at all. That the US government engages in this tired old ploy shows how narrow minded, and ultimately delusional, it really is. But, then again, it has worked so far. I guess we just need to hunker down and get ready for the inevitable.
Surely an expert on torture and abuse like the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff knows that when you continually attack and abuse something for too long, it eventually becomes 'non-responsive'.
At some point, they lose their fear of you. And when that occurs, you've created a truly dangerous opponent. Because all of the US's intimidation and bullying is based on fear. And when they lose their fear, its trouble for the abusers.
That just shows the futility and the utter stupidity of everything he's been doing for years now.
To Axelrod and Mullen: shut the hell up. It is elitists like you who have brought the American people to the very brink of bankruptcy and a grinding poverty that will surely follow. We, the people, don't want any more of your damnable wars. Take your wars and your worldwide empire of military bases and shove them where the sun doesn't shine.
Henry, you know full well they don't care even though it feels good to get it off our chest. They don't give a damn because they are where they are and doing what they do. If they did they'd be running the corner barber shop or pumping gas for little old ladies. Thats something far more meaningful than what they do any given day.
You are absolutely, but it had to be said. And it needs to be said over and over again. And it needs to be said by hundreds of millions of us. IT IS TIME TO RISE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
screeeeeeeaaaaaaaam Interestin how you come in so late in this flick and recognize the plot….
But, what about how hitler got into office…. The Reichstag Fire, The Enabling act….in short the Trird Reich Playbook…….You didn't seem to notice how one seems to follow the other play by Play……..
The neocon playbook IS the Third Reich Playbook….. It's the ONE they remember…. It's the one they FEARED…..and naturally as the highest form of flattery, the one they used to further their agenda…
911 was the Reichstag Fire…… The Patriot act IS the enabling act by another appellation. and Iraq is Poland…. I really hate this shit, but I suppose we could werk out who the players now were then. Of course the whole play cannot copy every twitch the Reich twitched… and new situations and players are brought to venture into new operations…. But in it's heart at it's inception the neocon cabal that has brought us all these wonderful "new" precedents like sexual torture, unlimited detention without charge…the end of the lawyer client confidentiality… the holding of the prisoners far away from courts, judges and justice… The END of ANY privacy…. Every phone being monitored…. Terror stings.. where the feds find some homeless winos, give them shoes, clothes and tens of thousands of dollars to get them to agree to some terror related action the bums NEVER intended to do…just take the money and run…. They need actors to fill their terror morality plays, and the fed is ALWAYS hiring for these parts..
did I mention airport security kabuki..?? Where the TSA has eighty year old women taking off their shoes, but I go right through with sixty pounds of wires, switches, cameras…controls and circuit boards….
BUT…It is their terror… They are the terrorists.. and they must be ever vigilant, ever alert to keep the illusion convincing, ever creating new diversions, new theories….. new patsies…. An enterprise like this cannot stop, rest or confide…. It needs billions and billions to keep the legend believable buying off some and others, too bad we can't ask Bruce Ivans…. You see, they are doing G-ds werk… george and tony have owned up…. So whatever they do, it's for HIM… Any worldly considerations like life death and decency are not applicable…….
The line between politicians and the military is becoming fuzzier and fuzzier all the time.