Iranian officials insist that they want an actual invite to the Geneva II peace talks on Syria, and that if they’re not invited its unreasonable of the US to expect them to contribute “from the sidelines.”
The US and France have rejected the idea of allowing Iran to attend the talks, saying they would only let them attend if they agreed to impose regime change on Syria before the talks begin.
The UN confirmed again today that Iran is “not yet invited” to the talks, though Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is said to be in favor of inviting them, and Russia has pushed hard for their inclusion.
The Geneva II talks are scheduled for January 22, and while the West has kept the “Geneva” name attached, they won’t actually be held there, because a luxury watch fair was planned first and got all the good hotels. Rather, the talks will be held in Montreaux, Switzerland.
Let's see now: the Russians and Iranians are insisting that the Syrian people must choose who shall govern them, while my US Government is insisting that there must be a "regime change" in Syria before the Iranians can even be permitted to observe "from the sidelines" the forthcoming UN-sponsored negotiations over the Syrian dispute. I guess this corresponds nicely with the way my US Government has been "spreading democracy" lately: a (non-Western) government is "democratic" when my Government says it is, regardless of what the people living under that government might wish to say about it. I was unaware that Lewis Carroll was one of our Founding Fathers.
It must really irk the US when many countries don't want to play the US's game of hegemony. Maybe it's time the rest of the UN changed the way things are done and do away with the "Permanent Members" of the Security Council. All these "permanent" members do is strangle progress.
It must really irk the US when many countries don't want to play the US's game of hegemony. Maybe it's time the rest of the UN amended the Charter and do away with the "Permanent Members" of the Security Council. All these "permanent" members do is strangle progress.
American leaders just can't help themselves. Every other nation need only be a stooge, puppet, junior partner or local coolie, no matter their proximity and importance to the region. Democracy when spouted by US elite is just a fig leaf for corporate conquest, whether or not we approve of the selection of the local people who must live under this democracy. If not, we start the destabilization process, thereby killing our way to the local gov't. we desire.
American leaders just can't help themselves. Every other nation need only be a stooge, puppet, junior partner or local coolie, no matter their proximity and importance to the region. Democracy when spouted by US elite is just a fig leaf for corporate conquest, whether or not we approve of the selection of the local people who must live under this democracy. If not, we start the destabilization process, thereby killing our way to the local gov't. we desire.
Requiring that the end result desired by one side be agreed to as a precondition for talks seems to make the talks rather a waste of time.