Gates: Time is not right for Iran talks

[maddezmom]

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Stepped up U.S. military activity in the Persian Gulf is to counter "very negative" behavior by Iran and undercut its belief that American forces are overcommitted in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.

Gates said the time is not right for diplomatic talks with Iran, but left open that possibility for the future.

After meeting with senior officials at NATO headquarters, Gates was asked at a press conference what was behind the Bush administration's decision to deploy a Patriot missile battalion and a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf region — moves announced in connection with a further buildup of ground troops in Iraq.

He noted that the United States has taken a leading role in Gulf security for many decades.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_on_re_eu/gates

So Hadley, Cheney, Condi, Gates and * all say they will not talk to the Iranians....diplomacy is DEAD.

[rodeodance]

1. they do not have a Madiline Allbright type to do the real WORK

of diplomacy anyway.

all they have is condi

[meganmonkey]

10. Yeah, she does a great job of putting a happy face

on the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. :puke:

Asked by Stahl with regards to effect of sanctions against Iraq: "We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?". Albright replied: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price -- we think the price is worth it".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Albright

Iraq Sanctions:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,232986,00.html

http://www.commondreams.org/views/081100-104.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0804-04.htm

[Junkdrawer]

2. Nah, Gunboat Diplomacy...from Douglas Adam's "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"...

....The history of warfare is similarly subdivided, although here the phases are Retribution, Anticipation, and Diplomacy. Thus:

Retribution:
I'm going to kill you because you killed my brother.

Anticipation:
I'm going to kill you because I killed your brother.

Diplomacy:
I'm going to kill my brother and then kill you on the
pretext that your brother did it.

[rodeodance]

3. they do not have a Madiline Allbright type to do the real WORK

of diplomacy anyway.

all they have is condi

[Arkansas Granny]

4. Diplomacy has been dead to this administration for a long time.

They don't seem to know the meaning of the word, much less how it is practiced. If you refuse to talk to other countries because you don't like their policies, how can anyone expect to ever come to any kind of sensible agreement? This administration prefers to call names and make accusations in order to provoke them, it seems, because it's easier than doing the hard work of negotiating for a compromise that both parties can live with. They practice politics like a bully on the playground.

[uppityperson]

5. as was bombing nomads a way to show USA not overextended?

more backwards thinking. We are not extended because we can bomb whomever we want. Never mind the man behind the curtain.

[goforit]

6. OUT OF CONTROL!!!

[superconnected]

7. If diplomacy is gone, then there is going to be war.

The most dangerous spot we can be in, is when diplomacy is gone. Even when it's intentionally "gone", by the current junta.

Oh Superman, by Laurie Anderson


O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a
message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.
Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you
coming home?
Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me,
but I know you.
And I've got a message to give to you.
Here come the planes.
So you better get ready. Ready to go. You can come
as you are, but pay as you go. Pay as you go.

And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said:
This is the hand, the hand that takes. This is the
hand, the hand that takes.
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
Here come the planes.
They're American planes. Made in America.
Smoking or non-smoking?
And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom
of night shall stay these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justive is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!

So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me,
Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms.

[MGKrebs]

8. This is a rerun.

Fer' cryin' out loud, this was a bad script the first time around.
The time to talk to them is when they say "we'll do whatever you want", but we'll call them liars anyway. Maybe we'll even try to make them go through the routine of submitting some ridiculous report about all their military activites, locations, strengths and weaknesses, but then say it is deceptive and incomplete (while using the info to program the cruise missiles). They failed to comply! We must enforce the agreement...er, back up our demands!

The NeoCon Way: Diplomacy AFTER War.

You can't have diplomacy until after the war!
How can you have diplomacy if you haven't had the war???

With apologies to Pink Floyd

[Thor_MN]

9. Time isn't right because they already laid the ground work for invasion.

Wouldn't want to waste those 10 or 15 minutes spent planning now, would we?

[leesa]

11. Gates is as insane and as unintelligible as Rummy

I guess that translates into, "Shoot first, ask questions later..maybe..if they're good"