Under GOP Fire for Iran Policy, White House Defends Strategy of Pressure and Pushes Russia and China for Even More
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(Bloomberg via Getty Images)
HONOLULU, Hawaii — Under fire from Republican presidential candidates for failing to contain Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions, the White House offered a robust defense of its policies, even as President Obama began the potentially arduous process of trying persuade the leaders of Russia and China to take further actions.
Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters that “in the previous eight years before President Obama took office, you saw Iran go from having zero centrifuges spinning to thousands of centrifuges spinning. At the point in time when we took office, the international community was divided as it relates to Iran, and Iran was internally united. Today, we see the international community united in applying pressure on Iran, and we see unprecedented internal divisions within Iran’s political system.”
Rhodes, speaking at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Hawaii, said the sanctions against Iran that President Obama pushed to have implemented have “applied so much pressure that the Iranian economy has ground to a halt.”
Across the country, the president’s Republican rivals had a less flattering take.
“This is, of course, President Obama’s greatest failing from a foreign policy standpoint,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Saturday at a CBS News/National Journal debate held in South Carolina. “He recognized the gravest threat that America and the world faces: … a nuclear Iran, and he did not do what was necessary to get Iran to be dissuaded from their nuclear folly.”
“If we reelect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon,” Romney said.
In a report issued this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency accused the leaders of Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon before abandoning such efforts in 2003, though the IAEA warned that some aspects of that program “may still be ongoing.”
The report detailed an Iranian program that sought “uranium suitable for use in an undisclosed enrichment program. The product of this program would be converted into metal for use in a new warhead. … The agency has serious concerns about the military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program. After assessing carefully and critically the extensive information available to it, the agency finds the information to be, overall, credible.”
On Saturday, Obama met individually with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao. He said after his meeteing with Medvedev that he pressed them to “shape a common response so that we can move Iran to follow its international obligations when it comes to its nuclear program.”
White House officials say there is no need for the international community to return to the United Nations to impose a new set of sanctions against Iran, given the IAEA report, since the previous sanctions contained ways to continue increasing the pressure. Officials said Obama very frankly pushed Medvedev and Hu to join the United States in taking such steps.
But there was no apparent progress to report. In their public remarks, Hu did not mention Iran, and Medvedev merely said that he and Obama had spoken about the subject.
White House officials argued that this is the beginning of the process of convincing Russia and China to go along with even more punishment of Iran, and they are confident Russia will be supportive, with China ultimately going along as well.
“The information within the IAEA reports tells a factual story of a government that’s not meeting its obligations,” Rhodes said. “And in that context, it’s necessary for the international community to respond. I think the Russians and the Chinese understand that. And we’re going to be working with them to formulate that response.”
The IAEA Board of Governors meets on Nov. 17 to discuss what steps should next be taken.
Rhodes said the “United States has moved very far” on sanctions “with other like-minded nations,” and suggested that while not a like-minded nation, Russia had in the recent past ” taken significant steps, unprecedented steps, in terms of their own sanctions, in terms of even canceling some arms contracts.” Last year Medvedev prevented Russian defense contractor Almaz-Antey from selling the S-300 surface to air missile system to Iran.
The United States will work with “European and Asian partners … to significantly dial up pressure,” Rhodes said.
At the debate, Republicans argued that the president needed to be more up-front about threatening or actually using military force against Iran. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said the United States “should be working with Israel right now to do what they did in Syria, what they did in Iraq, which is take out that nuclear capability before the next explosion we hear in Iran is a nuclear one and then the world changes.”
Romney said the president “should have built (a) credible threat of military action, and made it very clear that the United States of America is willing, in the final analysis, if necessary, to take military action to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon.”
Asked about the Republicans’ comments, Rhodes said “all options are on the table in terms of our interest in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.” As for whether the United States would be willing to go to war, Rhodes said, “I think that what we want to do is we want to solve the challenge. And so, again, I don’t think you solve a serious foreign policy challenge through rhetoric alone.”
– Jake Tapper
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Posted by: Flo | November 13, 2011, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
Typically, saber-rattling is what we hear from the Republicans. If two bungled wars weren’t enough. If we go up against Iran, we’d better not have Republicans in the driver’s seat. Just look how well they handled Iraq and Afghanistan. If we’re serious about cutting spending, how could we blindly bluster into Iran?
Posted by: Plantain_11 | November 13, 2011, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
Obama is a joke.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | November 13, 2011, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser was quoted in a national magazine interview: “We need a broad and sustainable consensus about the politics of national security and America’s role in the world, which we have not had in the 21st century.”
How is that a “joke”?
I’d wager ideas like these are appealing to war weary citizens who are relieved to see our troops come home after thousands of lost lives and Trillions spent on military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by: green.goddess | November 13, 2011, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
Obama has proven he’s a great military strategist. He killed bin-Laden and Gaddafi without losing one American life.
Posted by: blind spot | November 13, 2011, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
Mr. President, please ignore the Republicans. They know absolutely nothing about foreign policy. They are the same people who turned their backs on Bin Laden and, instead waged an unnecessary, underfunded and unprovoked war against Iraq telling the American people that we would be greeted as liberators by the Iraqi people. On the other hand, you are the one who remained focused and took out America’s worst enemy.
Posted by: midfield91 | November 13, 2011, 3:55 pm 3:55 pm
Funny,
Posted by: TexBork | November 13, 2011, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
Funny, I remember when 0bama told the nation that Iran wasn’t a threat.
Posted by: TexBork | November 13, 2011, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
Mr. President, please ignore the Republicans. They know absolutely nothing about foreign policy. They are the same people who turned their backs on Bin Laden and, instead waged an unnecessary, underfunded and unprovoked war against Iraq telling the American people that we would be greeted as liberators by the Iraqi people. On the other hand, you are the one who remained focused and took out America’s worst enemy.
POSTED BY: MIDFIELD91 | NOVEMBER 13, 2011, 3:55 PM 3:55 PM
*****
Posted by: Jenny | November 13, 2011, 4:18 pm 4:18 pm
Obama has proven he’s a great military strategist. He killed bin-Laden and Gaddafi without losing one American life. Posted by: blind spot | November 13, 2011, 3:50 pm – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - This is further demonstration that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while!
Posted by: Common _ Sense | November 13, 2011, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
This is further demonstration that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while!
POSTED BY: COMMON _ SENSE | NOVEMBER 13, 2011, 4:42 PM 4:42 PM
Sure if your world is comprised of squirrels and nuts, this is the kind of thing you would think.
Posted by: Randy | November 13, 2011, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
Our MILITARY killed bin laden. With crucial help from our intelligence agencies and enhanced interrogation… Obama approved the actual operation. To say Obama killed bin laden without losing a single American life is absurd.
Posted by: Logicsgood5 | November 13, 2011, 5:19 pm 5:19 pm
. To say Obama killed bin laden without losing a single American life is absurd. by logicsgood……………………………………….OK I give. Since you must have some secret type of information, just how many American Soldiers died when they got bin-Laden?
Posted by: blind spot | November 13, 2011, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm
Yeah, obozo took out bin laden all by hisself. Bwhahahahahahahahahah
Posted by: wastelandpast | November 13, 2011, 5:39 pm 5:39 pm
wastelandpast —Yeah, obozo took out bin laden all by hisself. Bwhahahahahahahahahah
Well, no he didn’t. He’s the Commander-In-Chief. He doesn’t do anything himself, — nor dies his Sect’y of Defense. Nor does his top generals. It’s all delegated, – that’s how it works. He sets the parameters and the initiative, then the person below him refines that, and the next person down refines that, …. It’s how delegation works. He takes the blame when things go badly; so why not the credit when it goes well?
Posted by: Steve | November 13, 2011, 6:00 pm 6:00 pm
Who do you think unleashed a virus on Iran’s Nuclear research computers? Just because we don’t hear about it in the news, doesn’t mean Obama isn’t doing anything. The GOP is a joke, no matter what they say they’re handing Obama the White House on silver platter in 2012 because they’re all worse than Bush was.
Posted by: Benibiker | November 13, 2011, 6:03 pm 6:03 pm
You know, I was in the Marines for four years and fought in a war, and I swear I’m more ashamed to be an American with every passing day. Obama spends every day rattling sabers over countries that couldn’t POSSIBLY be a threat to us while at the same time we’re providing them with billions of dollars in foreign aid, and the Republicans are crying because he’s not being warlike enough. For cryin’ out loud, folks, hasn’t anybody noticed that the country is bankrupt? BANKRUPT!! Don’t these people REALIZE that? Don’t they care? Don’t ANYBODY in Washington care about AMERICA? Oh, yeah, there is one. Ron Paul.
Posted by: freeman | November 13, 2011, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm
wastelandpast, — do you think FDR, or the Secretary of War, or Gen. Eisenhower — any of them — pulled off D-Day all by themselves? Or even claimed to? Do you know what leadership and effective delegation is?
Posted by: Steve | November 13, 2011, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
It must be difficult to be on team Bush when this subject comes up. He was pathetic. Obama has rocked.
Posted by: lexingtonlady | November 13, 2011, 6:06 pm 6:06 pm
As far as the Osama thing goes, the Navy recalls the whole thing a little differently than the Administration has said. For some reasons, even the administration’s own pictures from the room where they were all supposedly “listening” to it happen does and doesn’t include certain people, even from the same exposure. As though someone was there who really wasn’t or someone who wasn’t there, but really was. The 0bama administration still gets credit for taking Osama down while Barrack was in office, but I don’t buy the story of how it actually happened. 0bama doesn’t really get credit for Gaddafi. I think he’s right that we played a part in it, but Osama was captured alive and then assassinated. He can claim he helped that happen I suppose.
Posted by: TexBork | November 13, 2011, 6:10 pm 6:10 pm
We lost thousands of service members in years of war – a war which cannot be separated from the effort to kill bin laden. The intelligence we obtained wasn’t from a 1-800 tip line. And this is not secret information Blind Spot. You diminish our troops (and their families) sacrifice by ignoring this fact. It was not simply a matter of putting together one mission and then executing that one mission once the right anonymous tip came in… We lost far too much blood and treasure to get that #####.
Posted by: Logicsgood5 | November 13, 2011, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
Countries like North Korea and Iran must not have nuclear weapons. It is difficult problem and I know embargo alone never work. Nuclear proliferation is a danger to humanity especially in the hands of rogue states.
Posted by: Compass | November 13, 2011, 6:31 pm 6:31 pm
Republican foreign policy performance = pop ups and foul balls; Obama’s has been a lot of basehits and the occasional homerun.
Posted by: libertyjustice33 | November 13, 2011, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
Obama has destroyed this country. More people in our history living in poverty and on food stamps. Millions of people losing their homes and health insurance because of his policies. 4+ trillion added to the debt causing a credit downgrade and 14 million on unemployment killing any job growth. His constant stealing of our tax dollars in corrupt loans to his campaign bundlers makes me for the first time in my life to be embarassed to say im a American.
Posted by: Lopez | November 13, 2011, 6:56 pm 6:56 pm
Lopez | November 13, 2011, 6:56 pm…just replace Obama by Bush/Cheney, and your truth quotient will improve significantly.
Posted by: libertyjustice33 | November 13, 2011, 7:08 pm 7:08 pm
“Obama has proven he’s a great military strategist. He killed bin-Laden and Gaddafi without losing one American life.”——Wow, I thought it was the Navy Seals who killed bin Laden! Obama should have waited for our military intelligence to sift through the captured information but “no” he had to posture and take credit for the raid. After all there is an election next year.
Posted by: jonnie | November 13, 2011, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
GOP plan; drop bombs, create hate in a population that already has a credible history to distrust Americans and give Al-Qaeda another stronghold of propaganda. The Republican warmongering idiocy has PROVEN to be a disaster for America in the region. When it comes to foreign relations, President Obama has been providing the GOP lessons on how to do it right. They should sit down, shut up and pay attention.
Posted by: dan | November 13, 2011, 8:19 pm 8:19 pm
Not mentioned is the fact that the Iranians truly believe in the 12 Imam.
Check out for yourself and you may see why Obama and others are worried…
Posted by: AlaskaHound | November 13, 2011, 8:39 pm 8:39 pm
Hmm, Tunisia, Libya (civil war starts this week) and Egypt are going the way of the non-seculars and Iran has stood firm in its beliefs since 1979. Its time for us to accept and know exactly why Iran must have Nuclear weapons. Hint hint – Its the Madhi!
Posted by: AlaskaHound | November 13, 2011, 8:44 pm 8:44 pm
What’s new? Another day, the Republicans rooting against our Commander in Chief without caring it’s rooting against all of us. Go to war in Iran with what Mitt Romney? Will any of your many children go? The Iraq and Afghanistan vets have served 4 and 5 tours, one man was just killed on his 14th tour of duty. Who are going to send to fight Iran?
Posted by: Clt | November 13, 2011, 8:50 pm 8:50 pm
This is further demonstration that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while!
POSTED BY: COMMON _ SENSE*************Not far from the tree, are you. LOL!!!
Posted by: michael | November 13, 2011, 9:16 pm 9:16 pm
“Obama has proven he’s a great military strategist. He killed bin-Laden and Gaddafi without losing one American life.”——Wow, I thought it was the Navy Seals who killed bin Laden! Obama should have waited for our military intelligence to sift through the captured information but “no” he had to posture and take credit for the raid. After all there is an election next year.POSTED BY: JONNIE |
********YIKES , Jonnie, the strike on bin-Laden was a direct order, based on overwhelming
evidence. A heck of a lot more documentation than Bush’s whacked-out WMD fiasco.
Posted by: michael | November 13, 2011, 9:34 pm 9:34 pm
WH defends policy of accomplishing nothing…diplomatically or otherwise. WH committed to asking our Russian and Chinese pals to do something they will never agree to do…diplomatically or otherwise.
Posted by: foggy | November 13, 2011, 10:12 pm 10:12 pm
I am relieved that President Obama has shown a steady thoughtful attitude toward foreign policy that has accomplished a lot. Getting Bin Laden, helping Libya’s people fight for their freedom, pulling our troops in an orderly fashion out of Iraq, sending Afghanistan more troops, trainers and supplies to fight the Taliban, etc.
Contrast that with the 8 years of the Bush administration, starting the Iraq War with a trumped up mission of finding wmd despite the advice of experts that there was no wmd and that invading Iraq would create a civil war there, not properly equipping our troops resulting in great loss of life and injuries, not sending enough troops to hold positions they captured, resulting in the loss of national treasures as well as loss of weapons depots that the enemy used against our troops, etc.
It is great to have a President who can think logically and calmly in dealing with foreign policy matter.
Posted by: Lydia | November 13, 2011, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
Obama is not a friend of Israel.
Do not trust Russian and China.They provided nuclear material for Iran to build the Bomb.
Posted by: lu | November 13, 2011, 10:48 pm 10:48 pm
Did I hear them say “Bush’s fault” again.
Posted by: realsickofit | November 13, 2011, 11:00 pm 11:00 pm
Obama has done NOTHING to keep Iran in check, NOTHING to protect Israel, NOTHING to diffuse Middle-East tensions…… he is an INEFFECTIVE leader when we need an EFFECTIVE one….. can’t wait until the 2012 elections!!! —- Get somebody who can do more than CAMPAIGN!!!!!
Posted by: TheLoyalOpposition | November 13, 2011, 11:06 pm 11:06 pm
Lydia 10:39 pm ——— Drink the progressive kool-aid for now….. but there will be total conservative control of DC starting January 2013!!! The pendulum started swinging back as soon as the ignorant progressives tried to push Obamacare on us!! ——- Say goodbye to Mr Obama… one and done!!!!
Posted by: TheLoyalOpposition | November 13, 2011, 11:12 pm 11:12 pm
TheLoyalOpposition — for your wet dream to come true you better come up with someone soon because there isn’t ONE current GOP contender that holds a candle to President Obama. :-)
Posted by: dan | November 14, 2011, 12:09 am 12:09 am
I am really sick of the Republicans in this Country (and I’m registered as one). Stop complaining about all the damage you think Obama has done and blame the real culprit, (W), for his mistakes and stupidity while in office that got us into this mess in the first place. Increase taxes on the 1% and leave the old folks alone. Oh, and by the way, lets not make the same mistake again and send one of the current crop of hopefuls to Washington that think they can do better. A “flip flop”, a possible sex offender, and an over extender of personal debt. (OMG)………
Posted by: L.J. | November 14, 2011, 12:40 am 12:40 am
We can’t afford war with Iran. President Obama will make wiser decisions and do everything so much more sensibly and will not act nit-witty as the GOP do at every opportunity regarding Iran.
Posted by: Vicki | November 14, 2011, 12:56 am 12:56 am
Vicki | November 14, 2011, 12:56 am —- The GOP started the sanctions against Iran there Einstein! The problem is China and Russia are making money off Iran and North Korea nuclear ambitions. Obama is trying to talk to Russia and China and will meet with the same fate Bush did. Should we attack Iran if they produce a nuke? Probably not, but if they are shown to produce a nuke and do not allow the IAEA to inspect, we need the toughest sanctions possible without relying on Russia or China to back them, because they won’t.
Posted by: commonsenseparty | November 14, 2011, 1:31 am 1:31 am
IF OBL was killed in the PREVIOUS administration, gw would STILL be SPIKING the ball and so would his rabid followers!!! President Obama is doing really well in handling our nation’s security AND he had done just fine with foreign relations but those on the RIGHT need to THINK they can do better which we KNOW they DID NOT so here they are once again trying to kick the wrong can down the road. As for our Presdent’s work so far – I’m very pleased with some and not as pleased with other parts of what is happening in our Nation. But, he has been on the RIGHT track throughout his first 3 years and he is looking at the long term of bringing our Nation back and NOT just for the quick fix which WOULD put our nation in a bigger problem. I’ll take Obama’s leadership in a heartbeat over ANY of the present clowns in the running right now. OBAMA 2012!!!!!
Posted by: demNme5 | November 14, 2011, 12:53 pm 12:53 pm
It’s almost laughable to think the community organizer is some kind of a foreign policy expert, with that sickly looking Obama with no military experience taking credit for something he couldn’t do ! Using tactics that were approved during the Bush years, for our brave CIA and U S Navy Seals to kill OBL, and the use of drones ! What’s worse are the people that thinks he is doing a good job ! Think about high unemployment, high inflation, increasing food prices, high gasoline prices, and then you get it’s the economy stupid !!!!! KEEP HOPING !
Posted by: Say What ? | November 14, 2011, 1:55 pm 1:55 pm