The following is a
partial transcript of an Op-Ed by Jay Solomon, from the Wall Street Journal
being issued here by the Republican National Committee:
Barack Obama, under attack from President Bush and John McCain for
pledges to meet with Iran's leadership, has started to qualify his prior
bold stance, setting new preconditions and qualifications. ...
A centerpiece of Sen. Obama's foreign policy has been what he says is
placing a greater emphasis on diplomacy than President Bush, including
engaging Washington's adversaries. Speaking Friday in Miami, Sen. Obama
told a Cuban-American audience: "It's time to pursue direct diplomacy, with
friend and foe alike," including Cuban leader Raul Castro. ...
Sen. Obama, his aides say, never specifically declared a desire for a
one-on-one meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But Sen.
Obama didn't directly rule it out, either. In response to the query last
summer about whether he would meet Iran's leader -- unnamed -- during his
year in office, Sen. Obama replied: "I would."
His Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Sen. McCain have both
portrayed Sen. Obama's pledge as evidence of a lack of foreign-policy
experience -- even naivete. ...
In near-daily references over the past two weeks, Sen. McCain has
painted Sen. Obama as willing to engage directly with Mr. Ahmadinejad, a
leader who has openly called for Israel's destruction and questions the
Holocaust.
"The President of the United States sitting down across the table from
Ahmadinejad would increase his influence and his prestige...and would
probably scare the daylights out of other countries in the region," Sen.
McCain said Tuesday.
Even some foreign-policy analysts who have voiced support for Sen.
Obama's overall approach toward Iran say a presidential meeting with Mr.
Ahmadinejad ahead of 2009 Iranian elections could undercut U.S.
foreign-policy interests. They say such a summit could enhance Mr.
Ahmadinejad's political standing and marginalize Iranian moderates
competing in the Iranian vote.
Facing these criticisms, Sen. Obama and his advisers have moved to
define more clearly the conditions under which he would meet Iranian
leaders as president. They have regularly repeated in recent days that Sen.
Obama wouldn't necessarily meet Mr. Ahmadinejad, noting he could be out of
office next year. But they also have stressed that any meeting involving
Sen. Obama and an Iranian leader would occur only after lower-level
meetings at which the terms and issues of the engagement would be set.
Source: Republican National Committee
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