Six Nations Offer Carrot to Iran

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council along with Germany are offering some carrots to Iran. In a curious way, the six nations are acting as if they're not technically acting as the Security Council. Having gone through the UN/Iraq fiasco, I'm sure some of these nations are wondering if they are gluttons for punishment. Here's the story from Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post (by way of the Boston Globe):

The United States and five major world powers agreed yesterday to offer Iran ``far-reaching proposals" that would ``bring significant benefits" if it halts its drive to master nuclear power, but also threatened ``further steps in the Security Council" if Iran refused to enter negotiations.

The agreement, announced after extended negotiations by Margaret Beckett, Britain's foreign secretary, is intended to sharpen the choice for Iran in the debate over its nuclear program.

``We urge Iran to take the positive path and to consider seriously our substantive proposals which would bring significant benefits," Beckett said with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, and Germany at her side.

While details of the package were not announced, the incentives appeared to include an international effort to assist Iran's nuclear industry, including guarantees of long-term fuel assurances -- a significant shift of the Bush administration's long insistence that Iran had no need for nuclear power.

The thing I want to caution about all this is that real negotiations involving relationships as difficult as those with Iran normally take many months, if not years to work through. The petulant impatience that Bush feigned with Iraq in late 2002 and early 2003 is not going to impress anyone if he tries to pull that routine again. If these negotiations are real, some small but important steps are taking place. What we all need to watch for is whether Bush takes any significant steps to restore his credibility.

Right wing hawks in the Bush Administration who do not exactly contribute to Bush's credibility on 'robust diplomacy' include our UN ambassador, John Bolton; here's a post from Steve Clemons of The Washington Note who has been following Bolton closely:

Condoleezza Rice just really pissed off John Bolton, whom TWN has learned is seething about Rice's offer of direct negotiations with Iran.

There is a long, long way to go in our haggling with Iran over its nuclear program whether it is through indirect negotiations via Europe, direct negotiations, or resolutions and eventual sanctions via the U.N.

However, Rice not only has to manage the Iranian response to her initiative but has to manage Vice President Cheney's team -- including John Bolton -- who will try to undermine her at every step.

The longer Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bolton hang around, the more doubt there will be about the sincerity of Bush's new policy on Iran.