“Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has expressly said that regime change in Iran is not the U.S. goal. But… ,” as Anne Gearan of the AP continued in her very next sentence, “…[Secretary of State Condoleeza] Rice would not say whether the United States supports a change of government.
Speaking to reporters on the plane as she began her weeklong trip, Rice said Iran’s approach to human rights and its treatment of its own citizens were loathsome.
“I don’t think anybody thinks that the unelected mullahs who run that regime are a good thing for the Iranian people and for the region,” she said Thursday. On Friday, she referred to Iran’s leaders as “an unelected few.””
Somebody’s not ib the same page with Rice (who, to be clear, is not advocating military intervention). I have a suggestion for Lord Armitage, a seeming State Department lifer. He should go live in Iran for a while, see what it’s like to be a citizen of a mullocracy. He might develop a little empathy.
MEANWHILE: Some extremely disappointing news from Power Line. “Say it ain’t so, Condi” indeed.
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14 Comments
1. Lola:Armitage is that barrel-chested guy who is best buddies with Colin Powell? Didn’t he resign already?
Feb 4, 2005 - 9:56 am 2. jerry:Roger:
Richard Armitage is an old Cold Warrior that fell into the stability clique in the post cold-war era. His passion for stability dovetails nicely with the Edward Said/T.E. Laurence aficionados in the State Departmentís Middle East section.
Feb 4, 2005 - 9:59 am 3. BurbankErnie:How can anyone in the State Dept. NOT know that regime change in Iran is a MAJOR goal, along with Syria, et al. One only needed to listen to the SOTU to know the Administration’s position.
It is time to clean house in the State Dept. like Peter J. Goss is doing with the CIA. Get rid of the leakers as well. These “lifers” need to be swept out and their “opinions” kept to the books they will undoubtedly write upon their dismassal. At least they know they will have a second career appearing on 60 minutes, Hardball, etc.
Feb 4, 2005 - 10:07 am 4. mongai:I am not a student of Armitage’s career but I think it might be wise to hold off on the Armitage is Said/Arabist/reactionary meme. I do know he authored with Wolfowitz, to whom he has a long history of working with, the Armitage Report on North Korea. To the best of my memory it was very critical of the appeasement/containment of North Korea in the nineties and was well received by the neo-con crowd who surely are not Said/Arabist/reactionaries when it comes to issues like regime change and freedom. I also know that the Japanese victims kidnapped by North Korea found a strong advocate within the Bush administration in Armitage, after years of being ignored, and the very strong relationship between Koizumi and Bush, this including Japan’s support for the war on terror and Iraq (deploying troops) has a lot to do with Armitage’s advocacy and diplomatic skills. His “get some boots on the ground” drives the left in Japan nuts. Again, perhaps I am very off, but perhaps so are others who too easily try to pigeon-hole Mr. Armitage. Armitage, I think, also kicked some serious butt in Vietnam at considerable risk to life and limb.
Feb 4, 2005 - 10:46 am 5. mongai:Also, why are we so ready to believe what some AP reporter writes down. I hope this reporter was not telling the whole story and what Armitage (who lived in the jungles of Laos or was it Cambodia for a number of years, and surely has experienced quite a bit of hardship) said was at worst “diplomatic” and not an entirely inappropriate comment for a lame-duck assistant secretary.
Feb 4, 2005 - 10:57 am 6. jerry:mongai:
I assume you first comment was aimed at me. I did not say that Armitage is part of the Arabist/Islamicist cabal at State. I said his views on maintaining stability makes him sympathetic to their arguments about regime change.
Feb 4, 2005 - 11:19 am 7. John Lynch:Further on the subject, also on Powerline.
This post helps gel for me what is wrong with the UN. I guess KofiGate is, for me, reprehensible and the associated conflagration amusing; but neither essentially harmful to world affairs.
The post with:
helps me understand what is really damaging about the UN: it provides cover for hiding from reality and from consequences.
Feb 4, 2005 - 12:00 pm 8. mongai:Jerry,
I am not aiming at anyone. I think you, Roger and me all share similar opinions about State and Iran. I do think we might be jumping the gun on Armitage. I haven’t read it in a long time, but I don’t think The Armitage Report was a document that places him in the sympathetic to the “maintaining stability” camp. As I posted earlier, it was co-written with Wolfowitz. Second, as I also said, why take at face what an AP reporter says.
Third, Armitage’s life story deserves a great deal of respect. The little I know about it is extraordinary. He is a patriot who risked his life and not some “lifer” at State. Fourth, from my small corner of the world, Armitage has been a blessing and has helped create relations between the U.S. and Japan that have never been better.
But your broader point may well be true. But do you know it is true? Does he have “passion for stability.” What I have read by him and when I have heard him speak he seems to be most passionate about liberty and justice. A something that is very different from stability.
Feb 4, 2005 - 12:10 pm 9. David C:I kind of assumed Armitage was long gone too, as he was always so closely associated with Powell in most accounts.
But on the broader point, I think there are a bunch of cold warriors (many of whom were fine, even inspired, when fighting the Soviets) who for various different reasons, are simply unable to grasp how the world has changed since ‘89. But the common thread is an inability to move mentally from the bipolar 1945-1989 world to the unipolar world of the 21st century. In a bipolar world, it – sometimes – is necessary to make serious compromises of principle, as you have an adversary capable of destroying you if necessary. The mistake is thinking like that today, as if, should we displease France too much, they’ll nuke all our cities. So things like “stability” are overvalued.
Feb 4, 2005 - 12:28 pm 10. mongai:David C,
I agree with your point completely. But whether Armitage falls into that category of cold war warrior or not, I believe, is open to debate.
I hereby announce the conclusion of my defense of Mr. Armitage.
Feb 4, 2005 - 12:43 pm 11. Terrye:I think maongai has a point. The AP is not exactly gospel.
Feb 4, 2005 - 12:52 pm 12. ricpic:BurbankErnie,
“It is time to clean house in the State Dept….”
And Condi Rice is gonna do it?
All I can say is: “Don’t hold your breath.”
Feb 4, 2005 - 1:48 pm 13. james23:Armitage did in fact resign in November.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/16/rice.powell/index.html
So why quote him as the spokesman on Iran? j
Feb 4, 2005 - 4:33 pm 14. UpNights:In a televised interview (I believe within the past two years), Richard Armitage called Iran a democracy.
Feb 4, 2005 - 11:59 pm