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Bush Snubbed Iran Concessions Deal In 2003 By “Not Speaking To Pre-Ahmadinejad Government”: Childish Pique Of VP Cheney Cost US Big-time! But Was It? - RI10
Bush Snubbed Iran
Concessions Deal In 2003
By “Not Speaking To
Pre-Ahmadinejad
Government”: Childish
Pique Of VP Cheney Cost
US Big-time! But Was It? -
RI10
Tabacco:
Q. What happens when you let bad children run your government?
A. The Bush Administration!
THE SITUATION ROOM
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/18/sitroom.02.html
Aired January 18, 2007 - 17:00 ET
BLITZER: I just want to point out that interview with the president came from our affiliate group BLO (ph). Thanks to them for a good job, as usual.
Thanks to Suzanne.
She's always doing a good job for us.
Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
The American aide worker killed in yesterday's convoy ambush in Baghdad has now been identified. According to the National Democratic Institute, a group here in Washington, she was Andrea Parhamovich, who last lived in New York before moving to Baghdad to help that group promote democracy in Iraq. Three security people -- a Hungarian, a Croat and an Iraqi -- were also killed in the ambush.
In those heady days after the toppling of Saddam Hussein, did the United States miss a monumental opportunity to head off tensions with Iran?
There is word that the Bush administration actually snubbed an Iranian offer of some concessions.
Let's turn to CNN's Brian Todd.
He's been working this story -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, today, National Intelligence Direction John Negroponte said Iran has been emboldened in the last couple of years to take a more offensive posture in the Middle East. But back in 2003, before Iraq deteriorated, before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in Iran, we're told there was a chance for a valuable partnership in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Two former U.S. officials and a current Iranian official tell CNN of a brief opportunity between the United States and Iran that could have prevented sectarian violence in Iraq or possibly curbed Iran's nuclear ambitions.
They say it came in the spring of 2003, shortly after Saddam Hussein was driven from power. The officials tell CNN of a written offer to begin talks from Iran's top leaders, who feared they might be next. LARRY WILKERSON, FORMER POWELL CHIEF OF STAFF: This included, at the bottom level, the tactical level, terrorist exchanges. It also included middle level issues such as -- operational issues such as the stability situation in Iraq and also strategic level issues such as their own potential nuclear program.
TODD: Colonel Larry Wilkerson, then chief of staff to
Secretary of State Colin Powell, says the document
came across his desk. CNN obtained a copy from Trita
Parsi, a former adviser to a U.S. congressman, who
also received it.
Tabacco: If Wilkerson saw it, then so did Colin Powell. And Bush, who cannot or will not READ, was certainly informed, as was Dick Cheney. They all knew about it and snubbed their noses. Why? Because you can’t go to war with your allies; you can only invade your “enemies”! If you want to invade Iran someday, you keep them on your “Enemies List”.
Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with Russia; then invaded Russia. The Bushites have learned from Nazi mistakes. The old Double-Cross is NOT a good PR move.
The unsigned letter does not promise that Iran would work to stabilize Iraq, disarm Hezbollah or curb its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees, but lays those issues out as talking points.
TRITA PARSI, AUTHOR, "TREACHEROUS TRIANGLE": If the United States, at the time, had chosen to explore these discussions and its negotiations would have been successfully, then most likely, Iraq would not be in the mess that it is today.
Tabacco: This CNN exposé gets the facts right, but they miss the point! The reason you don’t talk or negotiate with your enemies is to keep them as enemies. That means you can go to war with them one day and control their OIL! The Bush Administration did NOT “MISS AN OPPORTUNITY”; THEY AVOIDED IT ON PURPOSE!
TODD: Larry Wilkerson says top State Department officials wanted to engage the Iranians, but when the overture reached the White House...
WILKERSON: It died in the vice president's office with this same mantra that he normally used to kill such things: "We don't talk to evil."
Tabacco: See what I mean! I can’t decide which is dumber – the Democrats or the Media?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: An aide to Dick Cheney said his office can not confirm the incident, but reiterated Cheney's recent comments that the U.N. has backed up the American position that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons.
A spokeswoman for Colin Powell says the former
secretary believes that at the time, neither he nor
other top members of the administration viewed this
letter as a great bargain. And a State Department
spokesman has said even if Iran presented a
conciliatory face at the time, the regime would have
continued supporting terrorists and pursuing
weapons of mass destruction
-- Wolf.
Tabacco: It was no “great bargain” because it would permit the Iranians to control Iran’s OIL. OIL is the main goal, not peace!
No I haven’t lost my compass. Neither have I fallen for the propaganda. The Bushites are NOT incompetent prognosticators; but they are
They denigrated the Iranians to excuse their own Non-Action in negotiating with the Iranians. Don’t listen to what they say and analyze it just for logic; anticipate
BLITZER: Brian, thank you.
Brian Todd reporting.
Tabacco: I consider myself both a funnel and a filter. I funnel information, not readily available on the Mass Media, which is ignored and/or suppressed. I filter out the irrelevancies and trivialities to save both the time and effort of my Readers and bring consternation to the enemies of Truth & Fairness! When you read Tabacco, if you don’t learn something NEW, I’ve wasted your time.
In 1981's 'Body Heat', Kathleen Turner said, "Knowledge is power".
T.A.B.A.C.C.O. (Truth About Business And Congressional Crimes Organization)
There are 3, not 2, options re War: 1- Win, 2- Lose, and 3- DRAW! Most wars
are draws. Some wars go on for decades, if not centuries. We didn't really
lose in Korea and Vietnam; but we did not win! What do you call that?