Clinton: Not ‘Either/Or’ Between Negotiating With Iran and Supporting Dissidents
Asked at the George Washington University forum about whether the Obama administration was effectively undermining the Iranian opposition by negotiating with
Jul 31, 2020119.9K Shares2.3M Views
Asked at the George Washington University forumabout whether the Obama administration was effectively undermining the Iranian opposition by negotiating with the Iranian regime over its nuclear program, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the choice was not “either/or.” Citing the U.S. experience throughout the Cold War of “always press[ing]” the Soviet Union on human rights while talking “with them about reducing their nuclear arsenal,” Clinton said that “we’ve been very clear in supporting the legitimate aspirations of Iranian people and speaking out forcefully against irregularities of their electoral process.” The responsibility of statecraft is to support both U.S. interests and human rights, she said.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that his view is that the “only solution” out of the Iranian nuclear impasse is to convince the Iranians that a nuclear weapon “is not in their interest.” Saying that he’s been called naive for believing the U.S. might be able to do that in concert with its allies, he mused whether the Iranians believe that “proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East” was ultimately in their interests, citing a worst-case scenario of the regional picture after a hypothetical nuclear Iran. “Do they think that enhances their national security?”
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
Latest Articles
Popular Articles