US presence at Iran talks shows unity: Rice

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday the decision to break with past policy and send a top U.S. diplomat to talks with an Iranian envoy shows that the world is united in trying to eliminate threats from Iran's nuclear program.

"The point that we're making is the United States is firmly behind this diplomacy, firmly behind and unified with our allies and hopefully the Iranians will take that message," Rice told reporters at the State Department. "It's going to be very clear to them that the international community and P5-plus-1 are completely united."

The P5-plus-1 is the group of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — and Germany that has offered Iran incentives to halt activities that could lead the development of nuclear weapons.

Senior diplomats from the group will meet on Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator to hear Tehran's final response to the package, which they presented to Tehran last month. The United States had been refusing to talk to the Iranians until they halted suspect activities, but is now sending its third-ranking diplomat.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVp6OcsznLJpeFv8SenE_EhxIpmgD91VM0481

[BOSSHOG]

1. Kindasleezy talking UNITY - ain't that precious??

[Drum]

2. Yeah, where the hell has she been for the past six months?

Muzzled, stayin' outta diplomacy's way, or shopping? What a lame excuse for a State Department. Haven't heard a peep out of them in like months! :mad:

[MaryEllen71]

3. Isn't this hypcritical?

Its wrong for Obama and Dems to do this but its ok for repukes?

[DogPoundPup]

4. Maybe someone in this gawdawful mis-administration actually took some time to

look at the map of the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Through this narrow waterway, only 34 km wide, pass the ships that carry between a fifth and a third of the world’s oil, including that from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

The inevitable reaction to the bombing of Iran will be the blocking of this strait. Iran dominates the whole length of the strait. They can seal it hermetically with their missiles and artillery, both land based and naval. If that happens, the price of oil will skyrocket — far beyond the $200 per-barrel that pessimists dread now. That will cause a chain reaction: A worldwide depression, the collapse of whole industries and a catastrophic rise in unemployment in America, Europe and Japan.

In order to avert this danger, the Americans would need to conquer parts of Iran — perhaps the whole of this large country. The US does not have at its disposal even a small part of the forces they would need. The mighty American Navy is menacing Iran — but the moment the strait is closed, it will itself resemble those model ships in bottles. Perhaps it is this danger that made the navy chiefs extricate the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln from the Gulf this week.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=111889&d=17&m=7&y=2008

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. I've got $5.00 that says...

That this is all about Condi getting the repuke VP nod.

[whistle]

6. I'd like to hear exactly what Condi says in those talks, I really doubt if it

...is unity on issues but rather U.S. hegemony.