SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Bush Needs Lesson in Statesmanship
Jul 14, 2006
President Bush has discovered diplomacy and is saying goodbye to his disastrous pre-emptive military policy. But, as he says so often, diplomacy is "hard work."
The escalating violence in the Iraq war -- now in its fourth year with no end in sight -- may have led to a grand awakening on Bush's part.
Bush is finding he has few options in dealing with crises with Iran and North Korea -- both seeking nuclear weapons -- and with the new violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
With U.S. forces stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president now realizes the world's only military superpower can no longer act alone.
He would do well to heed the admonition in John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961 when he told us: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."
Bush also should be reminded of a quotation from President Eisenhower, who frequently said he would go anywhere, anytime "in pursuit of peace."
The good news is that the U.S. is now willing to sit down with European nations to talk directly to Iran. It has no alternative.
But the bad news is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spurned the European package of political and economic concessions, saying he will not retreat from Iran's right to develop its nuclear industry.
When questioned about North Korea's firing of a nuclear-capable missile, Bush told reporters at a news conference last week in Chicago: "As you know I want to solve all problems diplomatically."
But he added:
"The problem with diplomacy, it takes a while to get something done. If you're acting alone, you can move quickly. When you're rallying world opinion and trying to come up with the right language at the United Nations to send a clear signal, it takes a while."
Meantime, the U.S. continues to refuse direct talks with North Korea, a policy that's hard to understand when one considers the possibility of reaching an agreement that could keep the Korean peninsula nuclear free.
Bush says he will "not get caught in a trap of sitting alone at a table with North Korea." Why not?
Bush should brush up on Eisenhower and Kennedy when it comes to statesmanship. He could learn a lot.
Eisenhower opened the door to the Soviet Union by calling for coexistence. Kennedy stepped back from a nuclear holocaust in the Cuban missile crisis by negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev.
So we should write the obituary of the president's policy of unilateral use of force, a strategy he first outlined in June 2002 at the West Point commencement.
It has turned to shambles in Iraq -- and there is hope that he has learned his lesson. He now turns to the lesson of working the world's diplomatic channels to confront North Korea with an alliance, not a swaggering Uncle Sam.
China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia join the U.S. in opposing North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The U.S. is fortunate that the whole neighborhood is upset -- especially Japan -- over the possibility that the Stalinist-style communist state could become a nuclear power.
Bush is currently relying on China to persuade North Korea -- its close ally -- that it could face even greater isolation if it persisted in developing a nuclear arsenal.
A diplomat once described his job as "keeping the conversation going." That's precisely what the United States should do on all fronts.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas was an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and columnist. She worked for the United Press International (UPI) for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau chief. She was an opinion columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House. Among other books, she was the author of "Front Row at The White House: My Life and Times" (2000) and "Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public" (2007). Helen passed away on July 20, 2013.
President Bush has discovered diplomacy and is saying goodbye to his disastrous pre-emptive military policy. But, as he says so often, diplomacy is "hard work."
The escalating violence in the Iraq war -- now in its fourth year with no end in sight -- may have led to a grand awakening on Bush's part.
Bush is finding he has few options in dealing with crises with Iran and North Korea -- both seeking nuclear weapons -- and with the new violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
With U.S. forces stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president now realizes the world's only military superpower can no longer act alone.
He would do well to heed the admonition in John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961 when he told us: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."
Bush also should be reminded of a quotation from President Eisenhower, who frequently said he would go anywhere, anytime "in pursuit of peace."
The good news is that the U.S. is now willing to sit down with European nations to talk directly to Iran. It has no alternative.
But the bad news is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spurned the European package of political and economic concessions, saying he will not retreat from Iran's right to develop its nuclear industry.
When questioned about North Korea's firing of a nuclear-capable missile, Bush told reporters at a news conference last week in Chicago: "As you know I want to solve all problems diplomatically."
But he added:
"The problem with diplomacy, it takes a while to get something done. If you're acting alone, you can move quickly. When you're rallying world opinion and trying to come up with the right language at the United Nations to send a clear signal, it takes a while."
Meantime, the U.S. continues to refuse direct talks with North Korea, a policy that's hard to understand when one considers the possibility of reaching an agreement that could keep the Korean peninsula nuclear free.
Bush says he will "not get caught in a trap of sitting alone at a table with North Korea." Why not?
Bush should brush up on Eisenhower and Kennedy when it comes to statesmanship. He could learn a lot.
Eisenhower opened the door to the Soviet Union by calling for coexistence. Kennedy stepped back from a nuclear holocaust in the Cuban missile crisis by negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev.
So we should write the obituary of the president's policy of unilateral use of force, a strategy he first outlined in June 2002 at the West Point commencement.
It has turned to shambles in Iraq -- and there is hope that he has learned his lesson. He now turns to the lesson of working the world's diplomatic channels to confront North Korea with an alliance, not a swaggering Uncle Sam.
China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia join the U.S. in opposing North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The U.S. is fortunate that the whole neighborhood is upset -- especially Japan -- over the possibility that the Stalinist-style communist state could become a nuclear power.
Bush is currently relying on China to persuade North Korea -- its close ally -- that it could face even greater isolation if it persisted in developing a nuclear arsenal.
A diplomat once described his job as "keeping the conversation going." That's precisely what the United States should do on all fronts.
Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas was an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and columnist. She worked for the United Press International (UPI) for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau chief. She was an opinion columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House. Among other books, she was the author of "Front Row at The White House: My Life and Times" (2000) and "Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public" (2007). Helen passed away on July 20, 2013.
President Bush has discovered diplomacy and is saying goodbye to his disastrous pre-emptive military policy. But, as he says so often, diplomacy is "hard work."
The escalating violence in the Iraq war -- now in its fourth year with no end in sight -- may have led to a grand awakening on Bush's part.
Bush is finding he has few options in dealing with crises with Iran and North Korea -- both seeking nuclear weapons -- and with the new violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
With U.S. forces stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president now realizes the world's only military superpower can no longer act alone.
He would do well to heed the admonition in John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961 when he told us: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."
Bush also should be reminded of a quotation from President Eisenhower, who frequently said he would go anywhere, anytime "in pursuit of peace."
The good news is that the U.S. is now willing to sit down with European nations to talk directly to Iran. It has no alternative.
But the bad news is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spurned the European package of political and economic concessions, saying he will not retreat from Iran's right to develop its nuclear industry.
When questioned about North Korea's firing of a nuclear-capable missile, Bush told reporters at a news conference last week in Chicago: "As you know I want to solve all problems diplomatically."
But he added:
"The problem with diplomacy, it takes a while to get something done. If you're acting alone, you can move quickly. When you're rallying world opinion and trying to come up with the right language at the United Nations to send a clear signal, it takes a while."
Meantime, the U.S. continues to refuse direct talks with North Korea, a policy that's hard to understand when one considers the possibility of reaching an agreement that could keep the Korean peninsula nuclear free.
Bush says he will "not get caught in a trap of sitting alone at a table with North Korea." Why not?
Bush should brush up on Eisenhower and Kennedy when it comes to statesmanship. He could learn a lot.
Eisenhower opened the door to the Soviet Union by calling for coexistence. Kennedy stepped back from a nuclear holocaust in the Cuban missile crisis by negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev.
So we should write the obituary of the president's policy of unilateral use of force, a strategy he first outlined in June 2002 at the West Point commencement.
It has turned to shambles in Iraq -- and there is hope that he has learned his lesson. He now turns to the lesson of working the world's diplomatic channels to confront North Korea with an alliance, not a swaggering Uncle Sam.
China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia join the U.S. in opposing North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The U.S. is fortunate that the whole neighborhood is upset -- especially Japan -- over the possibility that the Stalinist-style communist state could become a nuclear power.
Bush is currently relying on China to persuade North Korea -- its close ally -- that it could face even greater isolation if it persisted in developing a nuclear arsenal.
A diplomat once described his job as "keeping the conversation going." That's precisely what the United States should do on all fronts.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.