President George Bush seemed to tone down the crisis-talk a bit on Iran yesterday in his speech before the UN:
President Bush sought to assure the Iranian people that he wants a diplomatic solution to the impasse over their country’s nuclear activities but warned that their leaders are obstructing progress by funding terrorism and pursuing nuclear weapons.
Striking a more conciliatory tone than in previous addresses on the subject, Bush said Tuesday that the United States has no objections to Iran achieving a “truly peaceful nuclear power program” and told the Iranians that he looks forward “to the day when you can live in freedom, and America and Iran can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace.”
The comments on Iran were only a small part of the president’s 20-minute address to the U.N. General Assembly, which was devoted to urging the world to support the forces of moderation and reform in the greater Middle East. Bush said he wanted to speak directly to people in the region, assuring Iraqis, Lebanese and Afghans of continued U.S. support for their efforts to build new democracies while telling Syrians that their government’s support of Hamas and Hezbollah is “turning your country into a tool of Iran.”
Bush also urged the United Nations to act quickly to deploy a robust peacekeeping force to the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan, apparently over the objections of the Sudanese government. Speaking to the people of Darfur, he said, “Your lives and the credibility of the United Nations is at stake.”
A couple of factors worked against Bush. His international stock has fallen enormously due to the perception that he is a “cowboy” (the word often used in European publications) go-it-alone President. International support for the war in Iraq is tepid (if it exists in some countries at all).
Also, his speech comes amid a slew of press reports that suggest the administration is making serious contingency plans for some kind of military operation against Iran. Contingency plans don’t mean certainty…but the reports are out there. And there are some pundits, analysts and partisans who think some kind of military operation is possible (some even suggest it will be the “October surprise.”).
The fact that the U.S. is also in the middle of a heated election campaign in which the White House is stressing the image of Bush as a strong leader who protects Americans and does what he feels is right even if there is international opposition is likely to decrease the international impact of any serious speech he gives at this time. Some will assume it’s all posturing.
On the other hand, from the standpoint of domestic consumption, a certain number of Americans will dismiss Bush’s speech as imagery while a certain other number will say it showed the administration is adapting to international conditions to forcefully but politely state its case. The key question, in craven political terms: does a speech like this increase his international and domestic support? Or are perceptions of Bush now so set that it matters little what he says in addresses such as this?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.