CNN confirms Guardian Report: US to open direct office in Tehran

[grantcart]

US to open direct office in Tehran

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSL1611455720080717?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews

Original Guardian Story

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States will announce in the next month that it plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years, a British newspaper said on Thursday.

In a front-page report, the Guardian said Washington would open a U.S. interests section in the Iranian capital, halfway towards opening an embassy.

The unsourced report by the newspaper's Washington correspondent said: "The Guardian has learned that an announcement will be made in the next month to establish a U.S. interests section in Tehran, a halfway house to setting up a full embassy.

"The move will see US diplomats stationed in the country."

Senior U.S. diplomat William Burns said in testimony to Congress last week the United States was looking to opening up an interest section in Tehran but had not made a decision yet.

The Guardian said the development was "a remarkable turnaround in policy by President George Bush who has pursued a hawkish approach to Iran throughout his time in office".

CNN Wolf Blitzer just confirmed that the White House would not be denying the Guardian Report



This is third development in the last 3 days that reinforce Obama's main foreign policy and Iraq policy initiatives and undercut McCain's.

Those three developments are:

1) Joint Chiefs of Staff indicate further and faster troop reductions possible and likely

2) Senior State Department ME Expert (No. 3 in the State Department) will be joining the European/Iranian talks

3) Direct Diplomatic relations with Iran.



The reason?


I believe that the spiralling price of gas and the bank runs have put the fear of god into the financial experts in and out of the Administration and that this has strengthened Gates position which is to limit new conflict and negotiate with Iran.

Any calming between the US and Iran will have an impact on the speculative price of oil and calm markets and reduce pressure on banks.

Events beyond their control have made it necessary for the Bush Administration to isolate Cheney and the neocons and restore the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the State and Defense Department to their normal rolls that have been played by Republican and Democratic Administrations for decades before Bush/Rove/Cheney established a permanent political posture and undermined their functions.


Details on the the three developments quoted above can be found here:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6510670

[Submariner]

1. Bush is an appeaser!

Why does Bush hate Murika? Flip-flopping goon.

[grantcart]

3. Here is Bolton calling appeasement on yesterday's announcement that we would send a diplomat

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ESWRY3YOX8o


That was before today's report of the office



"The early coming of power of the Obama administration"

[Submariner]

6. Poor Bolton is all upset because his boss caved to Iran

His reference that the 'intellectual coherence' within Bushco is now missing is laughable.

This liaison with Iran could have happened in late 2001 when Iran helped the U.S. chase down Al Qaida. But noooo....the man-child wanted to play cowboy and would have nothing to do with diplomacy.

[grantcart]

7. and he could have saved all this time by having serious negotiations with

the North Koreans - which he is now doing.


I wonder if Bush and Cheney are even talking anymore.

[iconicgnom]

2. "The reason?" well, lemme see, it couldn't have anything to do with an election, so...

[grantcart]

5. I don't think so - this undermines McCain and basically adopts Obama's strategy

I think bank runs and market collapse is forcing them to make the move before the election.

[iconicgnom]

8. I don't think it's bank runs etc.

Watch. McCain will flip-flop on this along with Bush. In another month it'll be a non-issue and a huge point of difference, with Obama winning, will have vanished. But "the surge worked" will still be front page stuff.

[grantcart]

9. I think you underestimate how dramatic a Fannie Mae collapse would be

Hundreds of Billions

[iconicgnom]

10. Does anyone seriously believe the US opening an office in Tehran will have an effect on that?.

Serious question.

I don't see the connection. I do see a connection with oil prices, the oil market - since less tension has tended to coincide with more stable oil prices. I see a hell of a bigger connection with the GE, tho', and the kind of moves that the Republicans are beginning to make to make Bush more palatable to a population with a 5 minute attention span.

As for Fannie Mae etc. - I worry that the house of cards will tumble because it'll devastate guilty and innocent alike. I REALLY REALLY hope that Obama wins and starts fixing the US economic policy FAST - and I hope his economic czars name the criminals, the Friedman cliques, who set a row of dominos falling in a sequence with the US, the largest domino, at the end of the chain.

[grantcart]

11. last weekend the United States had its first bank run in 30 years

Its a pretty sobering to turn on your TV and watch people not be able to access their money and those that deposited over the guaranteed amount lose their deposits.


The price of oil has a "panic premium" that is added when a major source of supply is threatened.


Earlier this month Israel had a test run attack on Iranian targets using more than 100 jets.


Price of oil continues to rise and in addition to a downturn in the economy and increased job lay offs we now have inflation.


By bringing in immediate calm the market could reduce the price of a barrel by $ 25 - 30 dollars.


That will have a calming effect on the markets and help stimulate the economy or atleast slow down the slow down.


This is a very significant change in a President that is known for his stubbornness and rigidity. I think that the only thing that has brought him to a sensible approach in Iran is the fear that what they are doing is not only making things bad but they could get much worse.

What do you think would happen to the banks if there was an attack and a low grade war started with direct Iranian involvement in Iraq and thousands of American casualties with gas going to $ 7 per gallon?

I think the financial people told him that he had to start using the "calm" button and the defense people told him that an attack by either the Americans or Israel could result in undoing the situation in Iraq and thousands of American casualties.

[iconicgnom]

14. Oh yah, most sand people have been explaining that an attack on Iran would

put the US economy in even more jeopardy. That war, which would escalate out of control over the whole region, would also have to be bankrolled by China & etc. Because Saudi Arabia and other US clients would have to stop chipping in, since they'd also be directly part of the escalated war. It'd be hard to find an Arab, Persian, Muslim, anywhere who wouldn't see such an attack as a clear and direct declaration of war on them all, an existential threat to beat all existential threats, and they'd fight to survive.

Opening an office softpedals the war rhetoric, a bit, even tho' this same week Bush "amber lighted" Israel's continued planning thru' the logistics of a "preemptive strike", while assuring Israel and the world that the US will back Israel fully if there would be any Iranian retaliation. Standing down on that hard-core rhetoric wouldn't hurt, either.

However, what I think stops Bush is that it's questionable whether China would be willing to take the risk of carrying that accelerated level of US debt - and in fact China and others are showing signs that they'd like to divest, some, and hedge their bets, considering the sheer insanity of the US fiscal policy. And THIS, more than anything, is triggering the panic.

[Political Heretic]

4. Obama is effectively already president! :)

[choie]

12. I don't believe a freakin thing

about this report. I think Bush et al are trying to make us believe that they want diplomacy. Then, they can claim that they've given Iran every chance to "join the civilized world of nations" but they refused. Then, they can start their war against Iran.

[Robeson]

13. Good. I'm glad they're taking Obama's lead.

[glitch]

15. Ops will just blow it up, Bushies'll blame the Iranians and declare "WAR" nt

[followthemoney]

16. Why is the United States the only country to not have had a coup d'état?

Because it is the only country to not have had a U. S. embassy.

Tee hee.

[SurfingAtWork]

17. I think this is Bush playing "Lets try to have at least one positive thing in our Legacy"

He knows Obama was going to do this anyways, so Bush is stealing his thunder. Years later after revisionist history has set in, it will be that Evil liburul congress that was beating the drums of war with Iran, until the noble and wise Bush put his foot down and took the initiative to make peace with our Iranian bretheren.

[grantcart]

18. I think its more like "lets calm down the markets, bring down the price of gas and

hope there are no more bank runs strategy" but you could be right

[foo_bar]

19. why would they care about bank runs? Cheney is Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life