Thursday
Mar192009
That Obama "Review/Muddle" on Iran
Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 9:38
Related Post: Target Iran? This Week’s US-Israeli Talks
Moments ago, in a post on the US-Israeli talks this week on Iran, we suggested that "review" and "muddle" might mean the same thing in the current policy process of the Obama Adminstration.
The BBC lends weight to this possibility, ironically, in a story headlined, "US policy towards Iran shaping up". The story begins with the revelation, "The Obama administration is finalising its policy for engaging Iran. The approach is likely to involve a combination of small steps to initiate contact between the two countries and may include an overture in the form of a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, according to Western diplomats and senior US officials."
Read further, however, and this "engagement" is by no means certain. The first difficulty comes in the timing of the initiative:
More importantly, it is unclear what place a letter --- if it is being considered --- would have in an overall US approach to Tehran and even who is making that determination. The BBC story says, "US officials insist that no final decisions have been made and no announcements are expected for at least another 10 days while Dennis Ross - the top official in charge of reviewing US policy towards Iran - conducts an assessment."
Ross, however, is only one cook stirring the broth. Any assessment has to make its way to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and of course the White House.
So there may be the drama of a proposed letter but there is still no clarity on what exactly is happening between Washington and the fist, clenched or unclenched, of Tehran.
Moments ago, in a post on the US-Israeli talks this week on Iran, we suggested that "review" and "muddle" might mean the same thing in the current policy process of the Obama Adminstration.The BBC lends weight to this possibility, ironically, in a story headlined, "US policy towards Iran shaping up". The story begins with the revelation, "The Obama administration is finalising its policy for engaging Iran. The approach is likely to involve a combination of small steps to initiate contact between the two countries and may include an overture in the form of a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, according to Western diplomats and senior US officials."
Read further, however, and this "engagement" is by no means certain. The first difficulty comes in the timing of the initiative:
A senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that he expected the letter to be sent to Mr Khamenei before the Iranian elections this summer, although Washington's allies would prefer this step to be taken after the vote, to avoid influencing the election.
More importantly, it is unclear what place a letter --- if it is being considered --- would have in an overall US approach to Tehran and even who is making that determination. The BBC story says, "US officials insist that no final decisions have been made and no announcements are expected for at least another 10 days while Dennis Ross - the top official in charge of reviewing US policy towards Iran - conducts an assessment."
Ross, however, is only one cook stirring the broth. Any assessment has to make its way to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and of course the White House.
So there may be the drama of a proposed letter but there is still no clarity on what exactly is happening between Washington and the fist, clenched or unclenched, of Tehran.
