Rice Makes Lame Excuses For Why U.S. Can't Talk To Iran, Syria

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Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice argued last week that the U.S. can't "just talk to Iran" or Syria.

Why? Because if "the Iranians and the Syrians want to act to stabilize Iraq, they can do that without talking to us," she told Margaret Warner of PBS' NewsHour.

Sort of circular logic, doncha think? We don't need to talk to them because they don't have to talk to us if we or they want a stabilized Iraq?

I thought.

But certainly, this has been the administration's sentiment since the Iraq Study Group recommended opening diplomatic channels with Iran and Syria. I've written about it on JABBS a half dozen times over the past 3-4 weeks, too.

And I've wondered whether they are this stupid, or making excuses; and if they're making excuses, what's the real reason they fear dialogue?

the reason they don't want diplomacy is because the neocon advisors equate diplomacy with appeasement. They don't want to make a deal, and be written in the history books as being akin to Neville Chamberlain's England.

And/or, they realize they're so inept at diplomacy, it'd likely fail, so they're unwilling to try. Either way, it's all about their own political skins, not the interests of the country.

I wonder if they don't realize that their "legacy" is already beyond salvation.

is that most of the "diplomats" have left the state department over the past few months, and because no one apparently wants to be a diplomat for an administration that doesn't advocate diplomacy, those jobs have not been filled.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis.

And, Nixon, Ford, Carter & Reagan in refusing to negotiate with the Soviets.

Of course, all departments of government have been rendered useless under the chimp's rule.

on diplomatic/crisis management visits. A lot of good she's done. What is the "Rice Doctrine?" Is there a "Rice Doctrine?"

she is without a doubt -- the STUPIDEST -- sos we've ever had.

the whole idea that we can't talk to them either because they KNOW what we want or they KNOW this or that is just too imbecilic for words.

is that supposed to pass for grown-up sophisticated diplomacy?
just nuts is what it is.

the ONLY way we are going to get from A to B is by talking to the people we have the biggest problems with.

condi isn't stupid. but she is a black woman who's going places no black person has ever gone before; she has a terrible burden of nasty old white men riding on her shoulders, hiding behind her skirt. if she was serving a progressive, dynamic republican president who tackled global warming, wanted to clean up funding of political leadership races, redress the overburden of taxes on working, middle class and the poor, redefine business orgs as 'non persons' for tax purposes, bring the oslo accords up to date despite brutal terrorism funded by the nra/kkk/cia/foxnews/700 club etc....if condi was serving such a prez, we'd like her, and she'd love her job alot more then she does now...

and it shows -- that interview is a great example of her being unable to articulate an intelligent response to iran and syria.

like bush -- she has job that she can't do -- her being african american has nothing to do with it.

and she wouldn't serve in a progressive republican admin -- because she couldn't cut the mustard.

just following orders, and unable to articulate them in a way that makes any sense.

Rice is a pathetic reflection of the stupidity that's characterised this whole Administration.

Iran didn't detabilize Iraq, the US did. Iran can't stabilize Iraq when the US hasn't even a policy for the country it's ruined.

Syria has no interest in destabilizing Iraq - it's already having a hard time coping with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees. But Syria does need Iranian friendship so long as it's threatened by the US.

Rice & Co are idiots utterly incompetent to conduct foreign relations. Americans and Iraqis are dying because they can't see past their infantile mantras.

But what can you expect of the clown who was "National Security Adviser" in the eight months leading to 9/11?

Condemmed to making the same mistakes over and over again.
Wonder if she found Clarke's memo yet? (hint: look in the shoe bin)

These people are elected and appointed to serve as our temp help and act as representatives of our country to the whole world. By failing to utilize diplomacy as an instrument to help make us more secure they are endangering our lives and committing treason. Their pledge to uphold the constitution and provide protection for our nation means nothing if it gets in the way of their profits.

what did she ever do as NSA director to deserve a promotion?

worst member of a cabinet since the reagan administration

she's doing exactly what she's been told to, just as the walrus guy did exactly what he was told to at the UN. ok, sure, both do pretty much the complete opposite of their job descriptions, but that is what this administration does. they don't believe in diplomacy.