A Talk at Lunch That Shifted the Stance on Iran

[Rose Siding]

On a Tuesday afternoon two months ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sat down to a small lunch in President Bush's private dining room behind the Oval Office and delivered grim news to her boss: Their coalition against Iran was at risk of falling apart.

A meeting she had attended in Berlin days earlier with European foreign ministers had been a disaster, she reported, according to participants in the discussion. Iran was neatly exploiting divisions among the Europeans and Russia, and speeding ahead with its enrichment of uranium. The president grimaced, one aide recalled, interpreting the look as one of exasperation "that said, 'O.K., team, what's the answer?' "

That body language touched off a closely held two-month effort to reach a drastically different strategy, one articulated two weeks later in a single sentence that Ms. Rice wrote in a private memorandum. It broached the idea that the United States end its nearly three-decade policy against direct talks with Iran.
....
But the story of how a president who rarely changes his mind did so in this case — after refusing similar proposals on Iran four years ago — illustrates the changed dynamic between the State Department and the White House in Mr. Bush's second term.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=0af40a2d3d8b56c2&hp&ex=1149393600&partner=homepage

[UpInArms]

1. the spin on this was so thick, it was hard to read the article

I guess today's message is:

Dimson is very engaged in making decisions. Dimson is The Decider!

:puke:

[SharonAnn]

2. Or, Dimson is led by his mistress.

[Robbien]

4. Whatever new instructions the WH is giving to its lapdogs

isn't working because the spin is so smarmy no one would fall for it, except the other lapdogs in the beltway pool.

This one was written by Helene Cooper & David Sanger, two more to add to the list of reporters not worthy of the name.

[alfredo]

5. No, El Chimpo had to give in. He doesn't have the support at home

or the military to do what he wants to Iran. Iran knows this and are rubbing his face in it.

So spin on motherfuckers, we're on to you. We know you are now having to negotiate from a position of weakness, and so does the rest of the world.

[Rose Siding]

6. I think it makes him look like an idiot

All the crap about the inner court jumping in response to his "body language" (a necessity; we've all heard his verbal language)

And this is what a toddler does when he wants help: The president grimaced, one aide recalled, interpreting the look as one of exasperation "that said, 'O.K., team, what's the answer?' "

He's said that everything's on the table -war!- and all he can manage is a grimace?

[UpInArms]

7. maybe that "grimace" was just gas - did he have tacos for lunch?

Today's word for the presstitutes: smarmy

[struggle4progress]

16. I thought his grimace much more articulate than his speech, and

I'd certainly start listening to his radio addresses if they were conducted entirely by grimaces.

<edit: my own grammar>

[saigon68]

14. Dimson is the Chimpanzee

You can see his intelligence come through, in the expression conveyed by his eyes

[0007]

17. ....and his attentive ears is toned to the highest perception

[saigon68]

19. His Ears are tuned to Dickless Cheney, his Father and Karl Rove

His Masters

[WhiteTara]

20. and all he needs to do is grimace

and his staff knows exactly what he wants. He and Condi are so close that they use body language to communicate and then the deciderer decides.
:puke: on them some more
:hi: UIA

[infogirl]

3. I read Iran was givin nakkid pics of b*sh! via Jeff Gann*n!

see "gannon cannon" files...

:nuke:

:rofl:

[Nevernose]

8. It's like a press release from Condi's PR guy

Could the reporting here get any lazier?

[Cronus Protagonist]

25. That's exactly what it is

ding ding ding

Educate A Freeper - Flaunt Your Opinions!
http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Joe Bacon]

9. Once again, the New York Times lies for Bush

Is it too much to ask the New York Times to fire stenographers and hire reporters?

[Rex]

10. Okay team what a bunch of shit.

The Decider is a moran. Supertankergirl is crazy. Darth Cheney and Lord Rummy are just plain evil. Put them together and you have the ingredients for the end of the world.

[rodeodance]

11. O.K., team, what's the answer?' "--Wonder if bush did any thinking?

The president grimaced, one aide recalled, interpreting the look as one of exasperation "that said, 'O.K., team, what's the answer?' "

[Mz Pip]

12. That must have been some nooner n/t

[yellowcanine]

18. "Lunch talk" or "pillow talk"? Did Condi deliver the bad news before or

after the - err - encounter?

[daleo]

23. Afternoon delight. n/t

[bemildred]

13. There was no shift in stance.

It's the same stance they had with N. Korea: give us what we want and we will talk to you about it.

[Ghost Dog]

15. Exactly: This is very clear.

Mind you, Iran's stance is very similar (except they're not directly threatening or making demands on anybody), ie.: Accept that we have the legal right under the NPT to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes; then we're prepared to sit down and discuss your issues and ours (including, for example, extra-protocol inspections).

So, in a sane world (with a sane US administration) there ought to be room for plenty of diplomatic negotiation and resolution.

[drduffy]

21. buzzflash tears this apart pretty well......

www.buzzflash.com

[Lindacooks]

22. I just read that analysis - it's fabulous, and right on.

eom

[yardwork]

31. hilarious!

"...bizarre Bush penchant for running foreign policy based on body language."

[Cronus Protagonist]

24. Setting Condi up for a run in 2008

All the news stations are showing her in a different light. The change is subtle, but if you're watching, it's clear that the press/GOP is setting Condi up for a presidential run. This has nothing at all to do with Iran and it's not even news - it's pure propaganda.

Educate A Freeper - Flaunt Your Opinions!
http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Zhade]

26. "Their coalition against Iran was at risk of falling apart."

When was it ever in danger of coming together?

[ikri]

27. Exactly my thoughts

The "EU 3" of Britain, France and Germany have been saying the same thing for ages - diplomacy is the only route to take with Iran. Russia and China have been trying to ensure that no military action is taken against Iran.

The US is the only country that has been thinking differently.

[TankLV]

28. Iran isn't the one exploiting their differences with the EU.

It's the rogue nation USA and it's self-centered self-important meglomaniac policy that is the cause of the world finally recognizing the outlaw nation we have become.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

29. It reads like a novel.

"Excuse me. Where's the fiction section?"

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. A bad novel. To whit:

Condoleezza Rice sat down to a small lunch in President Bush's private dining room behind the Oval Office...

Their coalition against Iran was at risk of falling apart.

The president grimaced, one aide recalled...

...interpreting the look as one of exasperation "that said, 'O.K., team, what's the answer?' " :lol:

That body language...

...touched off a closely held two-month effort to reach a drastically different strategy

the changed dynamic

[joe_shmoe]

32. **PETITION AGAINST MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN**

It is with grave concern that I observe the growing threat of a new U.S. war--this time against the people of Iran.

For a collection of articles and resources on this subject you can visit this link: http://reseaudesign.com/research/iran/iran_summery.html

I'm starting up a petition which I will be sending out to as many members of Congress as possible. I'm asking for help to get this signed by as many people, possible in the next month. Send it to as many people you can.

http://www.petitiononline.com/n0war1rn /


thanks,
J-shmoe