A Nuclear Deadline Looms For Iran -- And For Obama

TIME:

President Barack Obama took office promising to pursue a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, but so far, he's gotten little out of Tehran. So little, in fact, that the President has given Iran a September 15 deadline to respond positively to his offer of negotiations, or face a heightening of sanctions. As U.S. officials huddled with European, Russian and Chinese counterparts in Germany on Wednesday to review the issue, Iran signaled that it will, indeed, respond -- by offering its own package of proposals to achieve a diplomatic resolution to the standoff.

Read the whole story: TIME

Comments

[newyorkid]

lran has the right to develop nucIear technology.

[Durango]

This is a silly spin on an important story.

President Obama should not be giving ultimatums. And I doubt he did.

But I expect to see some kind of movement from Ahmedinijad towards negotiations with the West, if not the USA or Britain.

It is simply good politics that when you are in trouble at home you seek a foreign policy initiative to give you greater legitimacy.

The trick, of course , is how President Obama and sec State Clinton play their parts. They will want to reduce tensions without giving Ahmedinijad more legitimacy than he deserves.

Which is very little.

But the nuclear issue is a tough one. By all accounts Iranians of all political stripes are in favor of the program. It would not do to have Ahmedinijad look weak or give in. On the other hand there is no evidence of a weapons program so the hardliners can give that up without looking bad.

Not that I expect that but I do suspect they have taken their "Death To America" program as far as they can. they already have the hardliners. they need the middle.

And negotiations with the west is one way of gaining them.

[MARNIE2]

W I L L the sept. 15 th dead-line is now been moved to sept. 30 . Then on into Oct. ? looks good
LOL ! /

[eileenflemingWAWA]

Iran has signed the NPT, which allows them the right to have nuclear power and to enrich uranium.

The five nuclear powers that signed the NPT agreed to get rid of their nuclear weapons.

America has a nuclear arsenal of over 10,000 weapons and nearly 2,000 remain on hair-trigger alert ever since the end of the Cold War.

An estimated 150 – 240 tactical nuclear weapons remain based in 5 NATO countries and the United States is the only country with nuclear weapons deployed on foreign soil.

On April 5, 2009, President Obama said: "As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act…Words must mean something [and] Human destiny will be what we make of it."

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends...I believe that as soon as people want peace in the world they can have it. The only trouble is they are not aware they can get it."-John Lennon

http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1354&Itemid=222

[Durango]

I think your quote from John Lennon is contradicted by your quote from President Obama.

Not that I disagree with your sentiments.

[cannante]

GOOD GOOD PEOPLE!!!!!!!

YOU WOULD THINK THAT WE WOULD LEARN OUR LESSON FROM THE TWO OTHER FAILED WARS IN THE REGION

ESPECIALLY THE ONE WHO CAMPAIGNED ON ENDING CONFLICT IN THE REGION!!!

I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO SING "LET'S IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT " OVER THE DROPPING THE BALL ON HEALTH CARE...

BUT THIS YAHOO MIGHT ACTUALLY BRING OUT MY PEACENIK FIRST.

and i am a REPUBLICAN­... unlike all the wastes of oxygen on capitol hill who SAY they are.

[newyorkid]

lran ha the right to develop nucIear technology.

[cannante]

NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO DEVELOP AN OMNICIDAL WORTHLESS TECHNOLOGY.

OMNICIDE IS SOOOOOO OVER.

[wdw505]

not if another country stronger disagrees.­..........­it is called WAR for a reason....­...the looser lives by the winner's rules

W e
A re
R ight

[PhilipB]

Realpolitik triumphant.
That was the the real message of the release of the lockerbie "bomber", an intelligence officer with the libyan ESO: Gahdaffi or anyway you can spell his name 37 ways never went before the Hague. Naturally, he had a country with Oil, and lots of it (which had not been properly managed according to BP) since Gadaffi or Ghadaffi or whatever nationalized BP in the early 70's,
And so now, He wants to have this big woop de do celebrating his 40 years of tyranny. And, Nelson Mandela, the sainted one, god forbid you should criticize him, has brought 37 names as the leader of the African union, so Mugabe and the Darfur murderers can watch fireworks and pat each other on the back, while Belusconi gives 5 billion dollars to forgive that weird AIDS outbreak by those Bugarian patsys who took the fall.
And on it goes.

[blutigeroo]

I love how countries that have not ratified the NPT themselves are trying to push around a country that has (and obediently follows it).
All 5 superpowers are meant to reduce their nuclear stock under the NPT, and we only just signed an agreement with Russia that, so far, is just an agreement on paper. Hypocrisy is our (and Israel's) speciality.

[FHTB]

Is it really the "liberal" position that Israel is the most evil and shameful nation on the planet, the root of all that is wrong in the world?

Here you have a nation that sponsors Holocaust denial conferences with guests like David Duke, KKK members and American Nazi party adherents.­..

Here you have a nation that greets a new Ahmadinnerjacket cabinet member with "death to Israel!" since that cabinet member bombed a synagogue in Buenos Aires...

Yeah, Israel really is an irresponsible citizen of the world...

[FHTB]

I love that one of Ahmadinnerjacket's new cabinet members was responsible for the bombing of a synagogue in Buenos Aires...ni­ce!

[FrankCornish]

Factually challenged person who like to throw around cutesy nicknames: AMIA was not a synagogue, and the connection of that bombing to Iran is tenuous at best. I suggest you look at some actual analysis instead of soundbites designed for distortion.

Start with Gareth Porter: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080204/porter

[alysheba 3]

How about Obama makes a deal. Iran agrees to import what they need instead of enriching their own plutonium and Israel agrees to destroy all their nukes and sign the NPT.

Oh that's right. It's easier for the US to use it's position on the Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran than it is for the US to stand up and tell Israel to grow up and be a responsible citizen of the world.

[cannante]

i thnk we need to bring india and pakistan into that mix, too tho

[myopinion2]

No one's interested in criticising India or Pakistan. Gets in the way of criticising Israel.

Out of curiousity given your disclosure of party affiliation, who would you like to see as a Republican nominee for the presidency.

[semorg]

Why is a foreign country and their lobby are able to set deadlines for our president? We've lost our sovereignty completely to a foreign country. I like some of these tea party goers protest something real, like our loss of sovereignty !

[myopinion2]

You may not have noticed, but the President set his own deadline. Your concern about US Sovereignty sounds like the teabaggers' concerns about the Constitution.