Middle East Politics.Net » U.S. foreign policy http://middleeastpolitics.net Facts, News, Trends, Analysis Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:56:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 McCain Shifts on Foreign Policy with Iran http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/10/01/mccain-shifts-on-foreign-policy-with-iran/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/10/01/mccain-shifts-on-foreign-policy-with-iran/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:27:55 +0000 kcahoon http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=1112

During Friday night’s first U.S. presidential debate, Republican U.S. presidential candidate McCain shifted on his policy regarding negotiating with Iran. This represents an attempt to narrow the gap between his foreign policy and that of his rival presidential hopeful, Democratic candidate Barack Obama, and to widen that between himself and U.S. president George Bush, who is at a record-low approval rating by U.S. citizens. Previously, John McCain has argued against authorizing “high-profile direct talks with Iran,” stating that direct face-to-face talks are “the most overrated aspect of our dialogue about international relations.” After Obama cited Henry Kissinger’s calling for negotiations at the secretary of state level without precondition earlier this month, however, McCain stated that he encourages these lower level meetings, and that he has “always encouraged them.” He is highly reluctant, however, to meet with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He has instead called for a new league of democracies, including Germany, France and Britain in working to impose sanctions on Iran, specifically regarding their nuclear program, which is a major concern for both U.S. presidential candidates. One European diplomat has voiced concerns over creating this league of democratic nations, however, suggesting that it could antagonize important countries like Russia and China with whom they would like to enjoy good relations. It has also been suggested that such a league may undermine the United Nations, and could therefore be potentially very unpopular internationally.

Kayla Cahoon

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/10/01/mccain-shifts-on-foreign-policy-with-iran/feed/ 0 Former Secretaries of State Discuss Future U.S. President’s Foreign Policy with Iran http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/09/19/ex-secretaries-of-state-discuss-future-us-presidents-foreign-policy-with-iran/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/09/19/ex-secretaries-of-state-discuss-future-us-presidents-foreign-policy-with-iran/#comments Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:37:15 +0000 kcahoon http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=753 CNN reported this past Tuesday that five former secretaries of state sat down to discuss how they would advise the future president of the United States on foreign policy with various countries, focusing on that with Iran. Powell, Kissinger, Albright, Christopher and Baker had various opinions on the issue. Kissinger feels it would be both in the U.S.’s best interest and the best interest of creating a stable Middle East to negotiate with Iran, providing that it be at the secretary of state level. Christopher, Kissinger and Baker all agreed on the importance of making sure these negotiations were authentic and official. Albright raised the concern of alienating the Iranians by not understanding their culture, and that the lack of understanding most Americans seem to have about Iranian society, viewing it as “monolithic,” could potentially raise serious problems in such negotiations. Personally, I think Albright made a very good point when she said that “the more that we go around vilifying them, we create — put [President Ahmadinejad] in a stronger position. And so not only should we do these steps that the others have been talking about, but we have to make sure that we’re not undercutting what we want to do by creating a bigger problem than we have.” The media has played a detrimental role in America, often presenting many nations in the Middle East as a monolithic evil trying to destroy the American way of life. Albright’s comments make it clear that this situation is delicate, and viewing Iran as a monolithic enemy is not going to do anybody any good.

Kayla Cahoon

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