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The hostage-taking of U.S. Embassy employees in Tehran

on November 4, 1979. Can the United States and Iran get

past this - and the 1953 CIA-backed toppling of Iran's

democratically-elected prime minister?

 

 

Le Monde, France

Will Iran Be to Obama What China was to Nixon?

 

"American diplomacy seems poised to take a great turn, breaking with the Bush team's 2002 decision to classify Iran as part of an 'Axis of Evil.' … This complete reversal, if confirmed, suggests a memorable precedent. In 1972, Richard Nixon stupefied the world by traveling to Beijing to meet with Mao Tse-tung and establish, for the first time, diplomatic relations with Communist China."

 

EDITORIAL

 

Translated By Molly Smith

 

March 22, 2009

 

France - Le Monde - Original Article (French)

On the 20th of March, Barack Obama addressed Iranian leaders with a solemn message expressing his determination "to seek an honest dialogue based on mutual respect." The gesture is historic, as it seems to signal the start of a thaw after almost thirty years without diplomatic relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic.

 

In other words, it's been thirty years since the spectacular hostage-taking at the American Embassy in Tehran which cemented the role of Iran as Washington’s enemy in the Middle East. American diplomacy seems poised to take a great turn, breaking with the Bush team's 2002 decision to classify Iran as part of an "Axis of Evil," despite efforts undertaken by Tehran against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

   

This complete reversal, if confirmed, suggests a memorable precedent. In 1972, Richard Nixon stupefied the world by traveling to Beijing to meet with Mao Tse-tung and establish, for the first time, diplomatic relations with Communist China. The U.S. then sought to disengage from Vietnam and expand the range of its "Cold War" diplomatic activities against the Soviet Union. On the eve of the trip, Nixon had scribbled on a piece of paper the priorities he wanted to address: "1. Taiwan - the most crucial (in reference to China's demand for a reduction of the American military presence in the region). 2. Vietnam - the most urgent."

 

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO IRAN

 

Times have obviously changed, but one can imagine that Mr. Obama may have written the following note: "1. Security guarantees - the most crucial (for the Iranian regime, which wants assurances that Washington has ceased to resent its very existence). 2. Iraq, Afghanistan - the most urgent (the U.S. desire to find a resolution in these theaters of military intervention)." The project is immense and the chances of success are far from assured, confronting an opaque Iranian power quick to procrastinate. There's nothing to suggest that Mr. Obama will soon fly to Tehran. Washington wants to focus on a strategy of small steps.

   

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany: To Make Up With Iran, U.S. Must Fess Up to 1953 Coup

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany: The CIA-Backed Coup that Obama Failed to Mention

Fars News Agency, Iran: Supreme Leader Responds to Obama's Message to Iranians

Press TV, Iran: Ayatollah Khamenei Says America Must Apologize for 1953 Coup

E'etemad, Iran: End the 'Political Excitement'; Begin the 'Political Wisdom'

The Daily Star, Lebanon Obama 'Fires Starting Gun' in Season of Engagement

Haaretz, Israel: Give Obama's Iran Initiative a Chance

 

The central issue overlooked in Mr. Obama’s message was the Iranian nuclear program, which is closing in on a military capability. Russia has sought to increase the pressure on Tehran. The Israelis want assurances, just as the countries of the Arab Gulf. Diplomacy is being revived, and that's a good thing. But the Iranian nuclear threat remains and the time left to neutralize that threat is passing by relentlessly.

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 27, 3:58am]