[Mb-civic] Iran's President Does What U.S. Diplomacy Could Not - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Iran's President Does What U.S. Diplomacy Could Not
U.N. Speech Raises Doubts About Nuclear Program

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 19, 2005; Page A12

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 -- Five weeks ago, Iran's new president bought his 
country some time. Facing mounting criticism after walking away from 
negotiations with Europe and restarting part of Iran's nuclear program, 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked the world to withhold diplomatic pressure 
while he put together new proposals.

On Saturday, dozens of international diplomats, including the foreign 
ministers of Britain, France and Germany, gathered at the United Nations 
to hear how Ahmadinejad planned to stave off a crisis.

Instead his speech, followed by a confused hour-long news conference, 
was able to do what weeks of high-level U.S. diplomacy had not: convince 
skeptical allies that Iran may, in fact, use its nuclear energy program 
to build atomic bombs.

Ahmadinejad appeared to threaten as much when he warned from the General 
Assembly podium that in the face of U.S. provocation, "we will 
reconsider our entire approach to the nuclear issue."

Senior European diplomats said immediately afterward that the speech had 
been "unhelpful." In fact, the opposite may be true.

"The effect of that speech will likely be a toughening of the 
international response to Iran because it was seen by so many countries 
as overly harsh, negative and uncompromising," Undersecretary of State 
R. Nicholas Burns said in an interview Sunday. "The strategic aim of a 
great many countries is to see Iran suspend its nuclear program and 
return to peaceful negotiations with the Europeans."

A European diplomat, who could discuss strategy only on the condition of 
anonymity, echoed Burns's remarks.

"There's no question this will make our case stronger and our task 
easier," when board members of the International Atomic Energy Agency 
meet Monday in Vienna to discuss Iran's case.

During his 25 minutes Saturday, Ahmadinejad delivered what began as a 
sermon praising the prophets of Islam, Christianity and Judaism and then 
descended into anti-American vitriol, conspiracy theories and threats.

He expressed doubt that the deadly attacks against the United States on 
Sept. 11, 2001, were really carried out by terrorists. He said Americans 
had brought the devastation of Hurricane Katrina upon themselves and 
that the U.S. military was purposely poisoning its own troops in Iraq.

There were quotes from the Koran, angry finger pointing and attacks on 
Israel interlaced with talk of justice and tranquility. There was a 
staunch defense of Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy, and to 
enrich uranium to fuel that program. There were no new proposals and 
little detail about old ones that were reoffered.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/18/AR2005091801144.html?nav=hcmodule
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