Obama Directs Kerry To Enter Nuclear Talks With Iran: 'The Diplomatic Path Must Be Tested'

[ProSense]

Obama Directs Kerry To Enter Nuclear Talks With Iran: 'The Diplomatic Path Must Be Tested'

Encouraged that newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani seemingly as a mandate to pursue a "more moderate course," President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he's directing Secretary of State John Kerry to pursue a nuclear weapons deal with Iran.

"We should be able to achieve a resolution that respects the rights of the Iranian people while giving the world confidence that the Iranian program is peaceful," Obama said during a speech before the United Nations General Assembly.

Obama said that the U.S. will work in concert with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China in trying to strike a deal with Iran.

"The roadblocks may prove to be too great, but I firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested," Obama said.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-directs-kerry-to-enter-nuclear-talks-with-iran-the-diplomatic-path-must-be-tested

Kerry, Iranian Counterpart To Hold Highest-Level Talks Since 1979
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023716416

[Scurrilous]

1. Good news!

K & R

[JustAnotherGen]

2. I think that's wonderful

And I'm in total agreement with him and fully support him in this approach. I have hope that we can change.

[blm]

3. Excellent - This is the action path in Iran that Kerry said he'd take back in 2004.

So glad he was prepared to take action on so many levels that other Secretaries of State would never have risked.

Obama, Biden, Kerry are shaping up to be one of the best WH teams in history.

[SidDithers]

4. But PNAC!!...

7 countries in 5 years!

Sid

[freshwest]

11. The PNAC peanut gallery has been banished from the White House. Jusy sayin'

Dear Worshippers of the Beloved Pair:

It Is Over! And It Is So Good!

[denverbill]

5. If Obama can pull this off AND keep Iran from getting nukes, he'll regain a lot of respect from me.

His Presidency has been one of the biggest disappointments I've ever had, particularly in the foreign policy realm. Practically all he has done is follow in Bush's footsteps. If Obama is able to restore decent relations with Iran and prevent Israel from going ballistic, it would be a major foreign policy coup in my book.

[ProSense]

6. Interesting.

"His Presidency has been one of the biggest disappointments I've ever had, particularly in the foreign policy realm. Practically all he has done is follow in Bush's footsteps."

Surprisingly, I have a completely different take!

[denverbill]

7. Sorry but you'll need to clarify for me.

Do you think Obama has been great on foreign policy right up until this, and this is a huge mistake?

[ProSense]

9. No,

"Do you think Obama has been great on foreign policy right up until this, and this is a huge mistake?"

...it's not either/or. President Obama isn't Bush on foreign policy, and this is an extremely positive sign.

[denverbill]

10. Well we obviously disagree on Obama's previous record.

But to me, he has treated Venezuela, Columbia, Iran, and Israel virtually identically to Bush up until this. Venezuela is bad and a dictatorship, Columbia is good and democratic. Israel is peace-loving partner, Iran is a warmongering threat to the world. To me, those 4 relationships are among the most important in proving to the world that the US is, indeed, a beacon of democracy, not just a capitalistic, cynical empire-builder.

He's also using drones with impunity, just like Bush, perhaps even worse. He's pushing the TPP and Columbian free trade pacts as well, which you may see as economic or foreign policy, depending on your viewpoint.

Granted Obama is no Bush when it comes to Bush's idiotic gun-slinger mentality, and is clearly liked better worldwide, but until this, I hadn't seen any great difference between them, much to my chagrin. I don't think Bush would ever have considered meeting with any Iranian leader. Hopefully, this is a change I can believe in.

[karynnj]

8. Great SoS choice - given what Kerry has accomplished on Israel and Syria already

Here's hoping that he - with the EU - will succeed in doing something like what he hoped in 2004 would happen in Iran.

I see that Joe Biden agrees with me here - http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/4464849


It is incredible news that Obama has called for direct contact with Iran.