John Kerry 'walked away three times' from nuclear talks with Iran
John Kerry walked away three times from nuclear talks with Iran
In an interview, the secretary denounced dumbest accusation he and Obama relented on key demands because they were too eager to reach a historic deal
Paul Lewis in Washington
Tuesday 21 July 2015 12.07 EDT
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has used an unusually emotional interview to reveal he walked away from nuclear talks with Iran on three separate occasions, insisting that the claim that he was too eager to seal a deal was one of the dumbest criticisms Ive ever heard in my life.
Let me tell you what a complete and total fallacy that criticism is, Kerry told National Public Radio in an interview broadcast on Tuesday. Its totally made up by people who somehow want to find a way to criticise the agreement. Because the fact is that I walked away three times.
<snip>
He said that he told his counterpart, the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, that he was more than ready to walk away on the Sunday before the deal was clinched, a point when negotiators were struggling to overcome the final hurdles. So we had no compunctions about it whatsoever, he added.
Kerry said had walked away during talks in London, when Iran started fudging numbers theyd already agreed to and they moved backward and again, later, when we were in another set of talks in Lausanne [Switzerland].
President Obama, in almost every conversation, would say, remember John, you can walk away, he said. In a sarcastic aside, the secretary added: I suppose we were so eager, thats why it took four years to negotiate.
<snip>
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)MBS
(9,688 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)Being a peacemaker is a lot like standing between two fools in a duel and telling them there's another way.
You'll be asking 'the sides' to stake out new ground, do things a new way, and few can be convinced to release their salted wounds and old grievances, even at the cost of the lives of others they will never know.
It requires breaking away from long cherished dogma and ideology and going for the true goals, which Obama has done repeatedly, and been hated for it from 'the sides.'
MBS
(9,688 posts)MBS
(9,688 posts)HFRN
(1,469 posts)to achieve the nation's policy objectives, particularly in a sticky, volatile place, without war
The Dulles brothers, under Eisenhower gave us this mess in 1953
I have great respect, and thanks for him
THIS is Obama's legacy
sorechasm
(631 posts)Unlike other GOP candidates, Bush has not said explicitly that he would reinstate sanctions if elected. Theres a lot of work that will have to be done, but I dont believe in January of 2017 youre going to have an Iran that is peaceful and is complying with this agreement and so over time were going to have to show our leadership again, he added.
Is that what you call Bush's legacy? Leading us where? Armageddon?
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)I'll scream.
Lying sack of crap, JOe, that's you...