McCain: "I Don't Mind" Holding Discussions with Iran

McCain constantly accuses Democrats of naivete when suggesting engagement in direct diplomacy with Iran, but, once again, John McCain proves that his rhetoric applies only to his political opponents.

In this interview from 2006, George Stephanopoulos asked McCain if in regards to Iraq, he would support, "the possibility of engaging Syria and Iran in this diplomatic process." McCain answered: "I don't mind engaging them at all. I think - we have to understand that we not only have the Iranian nuclear problem but the Iranians are on the ascendancy if we fail. So it's going to be very difficult to find common interests. Now maybe long term it's in Iran's interest not to see chaos in the region, I don't know. But in the short term both Iran and Syria do not share the same goals that the United States of America does. And we have to take that in consideration when we have discussions with them." [ABC, "This Week," 11/19/06]

In two previous interviews, McCain had similar sentiments.

McCain said in 2005 that the U.S. should join with Europeans and engage directly with Iranians on their nuclear ambitions. On a 2005 appearance on Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace asked McCain if, rather than "taking the back-seat approach," the U.S. "should enter into the negotiations, join with the Europeans and engage directly with the Iranians," to counter Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. McCain replied: "I do. But the Europeans, on the other hand, have to agree that if the carrots don't work -- which, by the way, I would imagine, given past Iranian behavior, it's going to be difficult for them to work -- that their commitment to us is that they go to the United Nations, we seek economic and other sanctions against Iran, because that's a logical next step. So far, our European friends have not agreed to do that." [Fox News Network, "Fox News Sunday," 2/27/05]

McCain said in 2006 that "there's a glimmer of hope...that maybe the Iranians would like to talk about" their nuclear pursuits." After describing Iran's potential acquisition of nuclear weapons as "the single greatest challenge" the U.S. faces "outside...of the war on terror," McCain was asked if he'd "start a preemptive war" to avert that. While McCain said the military option shouldn't be taken off the table, he cited the "broad number of options" before military action including sanctions and action by the UN Security Council. He continued, addressing the possibility of negotiations: "I noticed today, maybe there's a glimmer of hope that there is some indication that maybe the Iranians would like to talk about this. I hope it's true. I'm very skeptical because of their past behavior. But I hope that it's true." [CNN, "Larry King Live," 5/24/06]

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• John
• McCain
• Diplomatic
• Hypocrisy
• Iraq
• Iran
• Syria
• Discussion

[feepo22]

He is so pathetic. He will say ANYTHING to get elected.  TWO FACED LIAR

[McCainwreck]

McCAINWRECK!!!

[austpers]

Of course we are hostile to Isreal. It was illegaly created with the aid of UK and US and European problems Jews are mass migrated there. All along killing Palestinaians, displacing them and creating a pressure cooker enviroment for them. Atrocities of Isreal in occpied lands and its disregard for UN resolutions against it are abhorrant.

[GDI109]

roflmao im not even going to bother.

[jimiydoorshamelech]

since the islamic revolution began Irans govt has had a hostile position toward Israel

Outside of Lebanon, Hezbollah has been accused of the 1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires,[92][94] and the 1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish cultural centre, both in Argentina.[92]

On October 25, 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos [2] formally accused the government of Iran of directing the bombing, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out.[4][5]

[jimiydoorshamelech]

Kuwaitis dont want a bully with nkes

LONDON - Gulf states believe Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear programme rather than allow it to acquire an atomic bomb, an adviser to the Kuwaiti government and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said on Tuesday.

If Iran did build the bomb, said adviser Sami Alfaraj, then the Jewish state might be one of the countries -- along with the United States and Pakistan -- Gulf Arab nations would ask to provide a "nuclear umbrella" to guarantee their security.

[austpers]

It was Isreal that attacked it, not Iran. Iran does not have history of attacking anyone since the Greek/Persian wars of 300 BC. or so. Saddam started the 80's war with Iran with US support.

[jimiydoorshamelech]

Although most agreed that Iraq was years away from being able to build a weapon, the Iranians and the Israelis felt any raid must occur well before nuclear fuel was loaded to prevent contamination.

Iran attacked and damaged the [Iraqi Osiraq nuclear] site on September 30, 1980 with two F-4 Phantoms, shortly after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War.[6]

So i guess its okay for Irans Airstrikes against Nuke Plant of a country that threatened its existence (Saddam)...

so why cant Israel??

[jimiydoorshamelech]

israel and pakistan havent:

If one day, the Islamic world is also equipped with weapons like those that Israel possesses now, then the imperialists' strategy will reach a standstill because the use of even one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything. However, it will only harm the Islamic world. It is not irrational to contemplate such an eventuality.

(December 2001)[31] (Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, Currently on expediency council of Iran, Considered a Moderate)

[jimiydoorshamelech]

"[In Israel] journalists enjoy a freedom not found elsewhere in the region."

- Reporters Without Borders, 2007_

Source: "Israel - Annual Report 2007," Reporters Without Borders Web site

According to 'Reporters Without Borders' Iran continues to be the largest prison for the press in the Middle East, and in the organization's annual estimation on freedom of the press in the world in 2007 Iran ranks as number 166 out of 169 total countries.

[walid747]

He is not hypocrite. He's just under tremendous pressure from the top level not to engage in any diplomacy with Iran and Syria. These countries are jealous & do not like us because of our democracy & freedom.

[GDI109]

Well of course they want a defenceless victim, it makes life so much easier for them.