Bush Administration Shelves Plan for Office in Iran
The Bush administration has decided to shelve plans for a diplomatic office in Iran. Bush and his staffers fear that establishing such an office now would give people the impression that they are trying to influence the outcome of the elections in November of this year.
Some, the White House believes, would believe that the office was created so as to take wind out of the sails of Barack Obama who argued for negotiations with Iran. If diplomatic office was created in Iran, the White House fears, people would accuse it of playing politics - it would make the point about establishing diplomatic ties with Iran mute.
Others could claim that the move would hurt McCain for it would put him at odds with George W. Bush in a bad way; it would leave McCain to defend a more hawkish position than the current Republican president’s.
There are also other considerations aside from domestic politics: Iran continues to defy the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the International Community at large. Iran, the White fears, could very well interpret establishing an office in Tehran as a reward for bad behavior.
The US has a habit of throwing countries it disagrees with to the curb, treating them like trash..but we get emotional when others come to the curb and pick up our trash. Is it possible that the US is tired of watching Russia pick up our trash and throwing it in their trunk? Look for new diplomatic ties with Cuba and Venezuela too.