The McCain-Palin Gibberish Iran Policy

One of the things that hasn't been covered much coming out of the debate, is that McCain's Iran policy has turned to absolute gibberish.  After the past few days, it appears that McCain's policy is that Iran developing nuclear technology is an urgent problem that must be stopped to avoid a second Holocaust.  Therefore, we should build a new international institution that will take years and years to put together, so that it can deal with this urgent problem. Huh?  Also, Obama's willingness to talk to Iran is hugely naive and is so dangerous that McCain cut an ad scaring the public about Obama's position and consistently opposes it.  But McCain's advisor Henry Kissinger believes we should talk to Iran at the secretary of state level and somehow claims this is in line with McCain's view?  On top of that, McCain's running mate was on TV last week essentially green lighting an Israeli strike on Iran.  I'm really confused but let's walk through this in more detail.

At the debate McCain was asked what he would do about Iran.  His response:

Now we cannot a second Holocaust. Let's just make that very clear. What I have proposed for a long time, and I've had conversation with foreign leaders about forming a league of democracies, let's be clear and let's have some straight talk. The Russians are preventing significant action in the United Nations Security Council.

I have proposed a league of democracies, a group of people - a group of countries that share common interests, common values, common ideals, they also control a lot of the world's economic power. We could impose significant meaningful, painful sanctions on the Iranians that I think could have a beneficial effect.

The Iranians have a lousy government, so therefore their economy is lousy, even though they have significant oil revenues. So I am convinced that together, we can, with the French, with the British, with the Germans and other countries, democracies around the world, we can affect Iranian behavior.

This is crazy.  The United Nations was only created after much of the world was destroyed and the League of Nations had failed.  And even that approach took very careful machinations on the part of Roosevelt and his advisors.  It took four decades to create the EU and its still evolving and having hiccups along the way.  And oh by the way, no one in the rest of the world has any desire to create the League of Democracies.  Even once these organizations are set up, they have a very hard time acting in unison on anything that is at all controversial.  Just because two countries are democracies doesn't mean they agree (See the run up to the Iraq War).   

If the Iranian threat is as urgent as McCain claims it is.  If most intelligence assessments agree that we are looking at Iran having a nuclear capability, if not an actual weapon, some time in the next 3-10 years.  Why on earth would you waste years and years of time trying to build a new international institution that may or may not be able to address that problem?  This is a pipe dream and a pretty roundabout and absurd way to try and increase economic pressure on the Iranians.

Then there is the question of talking or not talking.  McCain's position is a continuation of the Bush strategy that Iran needs to meet certain preconditions regarding its uranium enrichment program before we will sit down and engage.  Somehow this is in line with Henry Kissinger's position.  But Henry Kissinger said the following a couple of weeks ago:

"Well, I am in favor of negotiating with Iran. And one utility of negotiation is to put before Iran our vision of a Middle East, of a stable Middle East, and our notion on nuclear proliferation at a high enough level so that they have to study it. And, therefore, I actually have preferred doing it at the secretary of state level so that we -- we know we're dealing with authentic..." Sesno: "Put at a very high level right out of the box?" Kissinger: "Initially, yes. And I always believed that the best way to begin a negotiation is to tell the other side exactly what you have in mind and what you are -- what the outcome is that you're trying to achieve so that they have something that they can react to. Now, the permanent members of the Security Council, plus Japan and Germany, have all said nuclear weapons in Iran are unacceptable. They've never explained what they mean by this. So if we go into a negotiation, we ought to have a clear understanding of what is it we're trying to prevent. What is it going to do if we can't achieve what we're talking about? But I do not believe that we can make conditions for the opening of negotiations. We ought, however, to be very clear about the content of negotiations and work it out with other countries and with our own government." (CNN's "Live Event," 9/20/08)

Obama's position is not as specific as Kissinger's.  He argues instead for tough direct diplomacy, but he also argues that there needs to be preparation in advance and he hasn't committed to what level the talks would be at.  The Obama position sure sounds a lot closer to Kissinger than McCain's insistence on preconditions and continued saber rattling.  And it also sounds a lot closer to what other secretaries of state like James Baker and Colin Powell have been proposing.  But Kissinger said this after the debate.

My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Senator John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality.

So, has McCain had a dramatic shift on his willingness to negotiate and if he has why does he keep decrying Obama's position as so dangerous and naive?  Alternatively, this just an attempt to paper over a differences between McCain and Kissinger and confuse the public while McCain's position remains the same as it's always been.

Finally, there is Sarah Palin's pretty frightening interview with Katie Couric where she essentially says that we should never second guess Israel, even if it chooses to bomb Iran. 

Just to wrap up.  McCain's policy is that we are going to put more economic pressure on Iran by magically creating an international institution that nobody wants, will take years to put together and may not even be able to achieve consensus.  His direct diplomatic strategy is a total mystery if he has one at all.  And his VP is basically giving Israel the green light to bomb while McCain has his own little history of singing songs about bombing Iran. 

Some may disagree with Obama's approach that advocates tough direct talks with the Iranians combined with more concerted efforts to increase economic pressure on Iran.  But at least it's rational and coherent, which is more than you can say for John McCain's position.

Comments

[jusion]

To all Ahmadinejad's appologists and rationalizers on HufPo, understand this:

Iran doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist. Ahmadinejad has threatened repeatedly to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. At the moment he doesn't have the means to carry out his threat but that will change if Iranians manage to acquire nuclear capabilities. Therefore, they must be prevented from going nuclear at all costs.
If somebody threatens to kill you, would you give him time to arm himself, or would you pounce on him while you still got a chance?

[Durango]

And he is about to get voted out of office.

And the modernizing Khatami is about to get voted in.

If nothing else, shouldn't we wait to see how that election comes out?

Or should we threaten and even attack Iran and insure Ahmedinijad gets re-elected?

Great strategy. Making enemies when it is completely unnecessary.

[SamEllison]

"If somebody threatens to kill you", hey brightboy, Bush's official policy on Iran is regime change.
You tell me the difference.

[JackPlankton]

Speaking of McCain's gibberish surrounding Iran, a musician known as Kumquat has created a music track based around McCain's mangling of the pronunciation of the name of the president of Iran during the recent debate, looped and backed by hip hop beats.

The free mp3 "Ahminedinejad" is avabale at:

http://www.kumquatpower.com

There is also a track that samples Sarah Palin's speech to the Wasilla Assembly of God - with moose sound effects added.

[Durango]

No, you don't understand at all.

McCain was suggesting a Legion Of Heroes.

Headed by Superman with Lightening Boy, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy.

Since McCain and the Republicans have left reality long ago this makes as much sense as anything else they have proposed.

Iran is about to have a new election. They will probably throw out Ahmedinajad and re elect Khatami, who, if I am not mistaken won with 70% of the vote the last time he ran.

Which means the modernizing segment of the Iranian polity are about to get voted back into power. And that should reinvigorate Iranian liberalization.

Unless of course the United States or Israel attacks that country. Or elects a president who will continue to threaten them.

In which case the Conservative Ayatollas will be handed an enormous gift. And will hang on to power for the next generation.

[SimonNZ]

"Good Guys and Bad Guys?" Sounds a lot like the Bush Doctrine Mark II with Sheriff McSame and Deputy Painful heading for a showdown.

McBush's Iran policy sounds like gibberish because he knows his real policy, bombing Iran and starting a new Middle East disaster would go down like a lead balloon at the moment. He's hoping to fudge the issue until after the election when (assuming he wins the Presidency) he can do what he really wants, start World War III.

[jusion]

OK, let me break it down for you. We (the US and Israel) are the good guys. They (Iran, Hizbullah, et al) are the bad guys. Do you disagree?

[kyeshinka]

Seriously, we use this "good guy vs. bad guy" battle to make fun of you. Are you really that dumb? The Iranian leadership sees the world the same way.

[johnwinner]

The "League of Democracies" idea is clearly a political whitewash of an idea long pushed by a group of right-wing cranks publishing regularly in the Naional Review - a New Christendom wlling to wage generational world war on Islam, compltely in keeping wth Christian Dominionist and millenialist thought introduced into the executive branch and the military by George W. himself. I am dismayed that progressives still miss - or dismiss - this important story. Craziness comes to power exactly because rational people think it can't.

[kyeshinka]

I am so sick of these conservatives joking about killing innocent people. Negotiation needs a chance. Even if you bomb a military target like a nuclear facilitiy you may just cause some problems for residents nearby. Ever think about that? Just because they live in a different country doesn' t make them any less deserving of life. Iranians are very similar to Americans, especially conservatives. They take care of their families. They have satellite TV. They shop for bargains and buy cheap crap. They watch stupid shows like Dancing with the Stars. They allow religion to control their lives, much like conservatives. They have a paranoid leader like the one you conservatives elected. They are basically a middle eastern version of yourselves. Why do you hate them??

[jusion]

Nobody hates Iranians, just like nobody hated the Japanese. But if it's between you and me (figure of speech), I'd rather be vilified as an aggressor rather than mourned as a victim.

[rmreddicks]

You're putting forth a false choice.

[FreedomFries]

Paranoia is treatable. No need to kill innocent people when help is available.

[SEQUOIABISON]

Well Said, kyeshinka.

Obama/Biden

[ProudAmerican23]

Do you mean conservatives like Irans Ahmadinejad joking about killing innocent people? Sorry slick but I dont believe he is joking! And those military target like a nuclear facilitity are intentional placed in areas where the civilians are, its called a human shield... but their leader made a conscious choice to use his own people for that purpose, meaning he values those faculities over his own peoples lives. When you say give "Negotiation a chance" you mean like negotating with Saddam when the UN told him to get out of Kuwait? or the negotation between the UN and Saddam when US weapons inspectors were being blocked and eventually forced to leave Iraq in 96 and again in 98? Or are you refering to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) whose security seals were broken in North Korea last week, yep thats the same IAEA who stated 3 days ago that they do not know what Iran is doing.

[woodchips]

If Ahmadinejad wants to joke and threaten, let him. No one is dying from his talk. He can't do much without the support of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who is the real power in Iran.

FYI, while the weapons inspections in Iraq weren't perfect, they were effective in almost completely neutering Saddam's military. Without those inspections, the US military would probably have had considerably more casualties in the initial invasion. In reality, the inspections kept Saddam from being much of a threat to anyone. I'm sure you don't want to hear it, but the argument that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the US was complete BS. Between the "no fly zones", UN inspections, and economics sanctions, Saddam didn't have much ability to wage war.

North Korea was able to gain access to nuclear technology, in part, because the Bush administration refused to talk to them. With no diplomatic engagement and the "Axis of Evil" saber rattling from Bush, they went ahead and built themselves a nuke. There's no way to know, but maybe if we had been willing to talk things over, there would be one less nuclear state on the planet. We're headed down the same road with Iran. Maybe it's time to try a different strategy.

[CactusTom]

One wonder how a man such as Senator John McCain can even expect to be competitive after his wacky carryings on over the last several months. And again I ask, how did that press corps that has been closely covering this guy over many years not exposed him as a super fraud?

Sure the guy is a maverick. But what good is a maverick who is a maverick in every possible way, including ways that constantly contradict each other. I think the term “loose cannon” more accurately describes this senator’s shameful ways.

[jusion]

Iran is a major problem that will have to be dealt with sooner or later. Ahmadinejad's statement "Israel must be wiped off the map" cannot be dismissed by any responsible Israeli leader. It's undoubtable the US is Israel's most important ally. However, faced with an existential threat Israel will do what she deems necessary, even over wishes of the United States.
Gov. Palin understands it. Barack Obama doesn't.

[Kassandra]

So you believe the media that he really said this , huh? You better take a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mScWWtRfGQ

Ahmadinejad DID NOT say "I want to wipe Israel off the map". That was ginned up to create another paper tiger to scare you with.

[jusion]

I agree, Ahmadinejad is a true friend of the Jewish people.

[ProudAmerican23]

"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury."

"Remove Israel before it is too late and save yourself from the fury of regional nations."

"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny.

The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land. As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."

"If the West does not support Israel, this regime will be toppled. As it has lost its raison d' tre, Israel will be annihilated."

"Israel is a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed."

"Israel is a rotten, dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm."

Kassandra, I believe your are naive enough that when Iran does actually send a nuke to Israel that you will be the first to claim that the US did it as an excuse to lauch a counter strike. Wake up, the world is not the nice place you believe it is, Ive spent years in the middle east and in Bosnia. Ive seen what humans are capable of.

[rmreddicks]

Where is the "existential" threat to Israel? Iran is in no position to threaten Israel's existence. Israel is in a position to threaten Iran. If not existentially certainly most horribly. Someone needs to give Israel and it's U.S. supporters a serious kick in the arse.

[jusion]

What part of Ahmadinejad's "Israel must be wiped off the map" don't you understand?
You're right about one thing though -- Israel is in a position to threaten Iran "if not existentially certainly most horribly". That's what pre-emptive strikes are all about. Israel will have to attack Iran in near future before the mullahs acquire nuclear capabilities.

[kyeshinka]

And what will we do? Bomb Iran? Where exaclty? Teheran? How many innocent people would you like to have killed? Why do conservatives get such a thrill over killing innocent people? Life exists in other forms than stem cells.

[jusion]

"Why do conservatives get such a thrill over killing innocent people?"
To answer your question --- conservatives (when they're not busy eating little babies) get absolutely no thrill of killing innocent people. However, if it's between innocent Iranians and innocent Americans or Israelis, the choice is clear for their respective governments.

[rmreddicks]

Just for kicks, wargame the scenario. What do you get?

[batguano]

Ahmadinejad did not say those words...they have been, as usual, used by the Israelis and the Israeli fifth-column in America (AIPAC et al) ...they have been intentionally mis-translated. The words were spoken years before by the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomenei.

The words, as I understand it, said thet "the Israeli regime would vanish from the pages of time". That is quite different from "Israel wiped off the map". The Neocons and the extremist pro-Israel lobbyists and supporters have gotten us into Israels wars just as they planned. We cannot afford to get into wars with Iran or Syria for Israeli extremism!

Here is an essay explaining the translation issue.

http://www.antiwar.com/orig/norouzi.php?articleid=11025

[jusion]

"the Israeli fifth-column in America"
You aren't too fond of the Jewish people, are you? Seems to be a widely shared sentiment of the Left.

[All in All]

McCain's League of Democracies; Why do I have a feeling that there would only be about two to four Countries that McCain would want to include into this "League of Democracies", now in what direction would the rest of the left-out Countries move then......... Smart Job McHomer... Instead of loosing the support of other Countries slowly America should just shun most of the other Leaders & Countries in the World as fast as possible, and Pray that after the chips fall most of them beg to join alongside McCain's-America & League of Democracies....

Have No-Fear McGambler is here......... Who's ready to trow the dice ????

[Progress08]

Say it with me kids;


PRESIDENT OBAMA. Sounds good doesn't it. Souds right. Sounds like the future and salvation for our country.

[jusion]

Ahmadinejad must love the sound of that.

[soithoni]

Why?

You're showing your complete ignorance. Again.

[BarackMarley]

McCain still believes that the mujahadeen led by Bin Laden are freedom fighters so anything he saysregarding foreign policy is BS

McCain Called Bin Laden a 'Freedom Fighter'
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/nation/mccain-called-bin-laden-a-freedom-fighter/

[timberdoodle]

Sometime some people are going to have to get used to the fact Iran will likely acquire nuclear weapons as have other nations such as North Korea, Pakistan etc. As it stands right now Iran would be absolutely crazy to quit it's program when they are constantly being threatened by a country that has proven it will invade another country for no other reason than oil revenues. Why can't people just sit back and think what they would do if they were Iran after witnessing what is going on all around them.

[hrholmes]

Poor McSaurus. The caption on his campaign posters should read;'A mind is a terrible thing to lose!'. Along with any semblance of integrity, honor, truth or main street American values. Palin is merely a pretty lost puppy in all this and has no idea what a joke she has become to all of mainstream America. This poor example of Republican politics could not even name a single source for her news or information! Holy crap. These two could not even be elected to the resident board of a retirement community so what the hell are they doing even being considered for the White House?

[whatsthatsound]

This business of "there can't be another Holocaust" is the kind of braindead argument stopper that shows they don't have real points to make. It is also an insult to the victims of Hitler's Holocaust. That was a state run enterprise of extermination that was unprecedented in its mechanistic cruelty. It was not some hothead trying to rally the haters in his country by calling for Israel to be wiped out. Other than those statements, there is hardly evidence that Iranians are planning, as the Nazis did, to carry out an extermination campaign.

[ProudAmerican23]

"There never WAS a Holocaust" (just ask Ahmadinejad)

[brutus948]

I know when I saw that I was like in one sentence he is saying the same thing as Obama and in another he is saying the exact opposite.

What I know is that Mccain is to comfortable with the state of WAR. So a war with Iran will be a reality if he gets elected. I'm certain of it.