Last night I was listening to Condi Rice's Iran
speech and Q&A on C-Span radio. An exchange with one of the reporters really caught my ear. The exchange, and what it means for US Foreign Policy, below the fold.
QUESTION: So far, Madame Secretary, you have always ruled out -- sorry, you have always refused to rule out the military option against Iran. But are you prepared to consider taking that option off the table, at least temporarily while negotiations go ahead? SECRETARY RICE: The President is not going to take any of his options off the table, temporarily or otherwise. I don't think you really want the American President to take his options off the table. But the President has said that we are committed to a diplomatic solution to this problem and we believe that there are many things that we can do diplomatically. I can remember being asked several times: "Well, is diplomacy coming to an end?" And those who travel with me will remember that I have said there are many other arrows in our diplomatic quiver. Well, this is one of those arrows in our diplomatic quiver that if, in fact, the Iranians are prepared to suspend, then the United States is prepared to reinforce these negotiations at the table. But the principal condition here has not changed. It is not our condition. It's the condition that the Europeans set. It is also the condition that the Board of Governors affirmed and it is the condition that the Security Council presidential statement affirms.
Here, Condi Rice has either mixed a metaphor, the hallmark of a mediocre intellect, or she's giving away what the Bush administration really thinks of Foreign Policy. A quiver is a carrying-case for arrows, as most folks know. Arrows are weapons. When you talk about a diplomatic quiver, you're talking about a series of diplomatic weapons.
But Condi is calling negotiations an arrow, a weapon. Here's a little reminder for Condi and the rest of us, how the Office of the President relates to arrows:
That's the seal of the President. In one claw, the eagle is clutching arrows, the tools of war. In the other, an olive branch, the instrument of peace. In other words, you can't just have a quiver of arrows, Condi.
When US Foreign Policy consists only of arrows, you can pretty much throw that eagle out the window, and the office it represents. Here's another telling bit from the conference:
QUESTION: What is unclear to you about Iranian intentions?SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think most of the evidence thus far is that Iran does not intend to have a civil nuclear program that is acceptable to the international community; thus far, that Iran does not intend to accede to the Board of Governors demands or those of the Security Council presidential statement. But this is another opportunity for Iran to demonstrate that, in fact, they do intend to come into the international consensus about this.
We are prepared to go either way. We are prepared to do the negotiations and the United States is prepared to be a party to it. But Iran must suspend its enrichment activities fully, verifiably and then we can have negotiations. Those negotiations, I think, will open up new opportunities and new benefits for the Iranian people, but that is only possible if Iran makes the choice to follow the path that has been put before them by the international community.
What doesn't come across here is how Rice was flummoxed by this simple question, she bleated in half-hearted laughter when it was asked. You'll notice, of course, that she didn't identify anything that was unclear. She says it's clear that Iran won't do what we're asking them to do (i.e. have a civil nuclear program that is acceptable to the international community). She is also saying that Iran has a choice, and only they are capable of making these decisions. The State Department under Powell used
similar language a few years ago when describing Saddam's "choice" not to disarm.
Of course, while Condi loves to use the "carrot and stick" metaphor, but when Fox News "reports" on the Carrot and Stick (aka Olive Branch or Arrow) approach to Iran:
Key Security Council nations agreed Tuesday to present Iran with a choice of incentives or sanctions in deciding whether to suspend uranium enrichment, a move which will delay a U.N. resolution to curb Iran's nuclear program, a European official said.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressed, however, that this could not be a substitute for a strong message to Iran from the Security Council "that their behavior to date is unacceptable, and that they need to return to the negotiating table."
In other words, the Carrot and the Stick approach is fine by the US, as long as it is clear that there will be a stick involved.
I can't say that I look forward to the inevitable redesign of the Presidential Seal with the eagle grasping only arrows, and perhaps falsified intelligence.