Mr. President It’s Time, Talk To Them
Ken Hughes
August 21, 2006
If I were the leader of the free world I’d call a summit meeting of all the important leaders of the world, protagonists and antagonists get them all in a room for a week or more whatever it takes and hammer out their differences. My only precondition would be they must check their guns with the Bartender.
I can hear liberal and conservatives both say,” It’ll never work” the only reason to think it’ll never work is because it’s seldom been tried. Diplomats always have preconditions before they’ll sit down and discuss anything with anyone. Then there’s the media who take unsubstantiated information form unidentified souses laying out what negotiators expect to accomplish. There’s the problem of to many talkers and not enough listeners. Diplomacy is usually about properly phrased words and not workable solutions.
I’m in favor of adding a few words to the first amendment of the constitution, “A free and responsible press.”
President Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao of China met one on one at the height of the cold war in 1972. This meeting eventually produced one of the most prolific economic partnerships in history. They talked with no preconditions.
President Ronald Reagan and Chairman Gorbachev through the course of several meetings came to a meeting of the minds. those meeting ended the threat of communism and freed millions of people to determine their own governments. What is considered the western world or the free world if you prefer doubled the night the Berlin Wall came down. They talked with few preconditions.
There are a few other examples where two leaders come together to avoid major conflict, It would seem to me if I’m going to negotiate I shouldn’t go with a long list of things I’ve made up my mind on already. As a businessman of more than 50 years I learned the hard way to let the other person present their argument first. It gave me an opportunity to see both sides of the issues and plan my stratigy.
The United States government doesn’t honestly know what North Korea, Iran, Al Qaeda or any of the other antagonist nations are willing to settle for because they aren’t talking. This government can’t continually throw spit balls and expect any cooperation from those antagonist nations. Those nations are egocentric for a reason for thousands of years they’ve lived in someone’s shadow treated like Bedouin beggars from the 7th century. Now they’re applying the “Golden Rule” He who has the gold, [oil] expect to make some of the rules.
There’s much to fear from this new Islamic society encompassing the world, until we communicate rather than accommodate we aren’t likely to learn what their all about. This nation can’t continue to presume they know what they don’t know and make policy from no information.
A classic example of a failed policy is the embargo on Ciba lasting more than 40 years and what has it accomplished? It made American citizens out of nearly half the Cuban population. It killed thousand’s of Cubans trying to get to America. It turned much of the Hispanic community against America. The world laughs at a tiny Banana Republic holding the mighty America at bay for over 40 years. The embargo and Cuba’s isolation from America made Castro what he became the hero of the Hispanic people.
I have all the respect in the world for President George W. Bush his accomplishment are exceptional. George Bush has a failing he sees the world as Democratic and Undemocratic. This is a policy that isn’t selling around the world these days. The solution is to modify our rigid positions on issues and listen to alternatives policies this nation can accommodate without sacrificing our own sovereignty. The big sticks and soft words no longer impress other nations, there’s a wave of nationalism spreading over the globe that we can no longer control. It’s time to take a second look and establish a new policy toward other nations that affords them a choice regardless what it may be and how much we disagree.
I can hear liberal and conservatives both say,” It’ll never work” the only reason to think it’ll never work is because it’s seldom been tried. Diplomats always have preconditions before they’ll sit down and discuss anything with anyone. Then there’s the media who take unsubstantiated information form unidentified souses laying out what negotiators expect to accomplish. There’s the problem of to many talkers and not enough listeners. Diplomacy is usually about properly phrased words and not workable solutions.
I’m in favor of adding a few words to the first amendment of the constitution, “A free and responsible press.”
President Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao of China met one on one at the height of the cold war in 1972. This meeting eventually produced one of the most prolific economic partnerships in history. They talked with no preconditions.
President Ronald Reagan and Chairman Gorbachev through the course of several meetings came to a meeting of the minds. those meeting ended the threat of communism and freed millions of people to determine their own governments. What is considered the western world or the free world if you prefer doubled the night the Berlin Wall came down. They talked with few preconditions.
There are a few other examples where two leaders come together to avoid major conflict, It would seem to me if I’m going to negotiate I shouldn’t go with a long list of things I’ve made up my mind on already. As a businessman of more than 50 years I learned the hard way to let the other person present their argument first. It gave me an opportunity to see both sides of the issues and plan my stratigy.
The United States government doesn’t honestly know what North Korea, Iran, Al Qaeda or any of the other antagonist nations are willing to settle for because they aren’t talking. This government can’t continually throw spit balls and expect any cooperation from those antagonist nations. Those nations are egocentric for a reason for thousands of years they’ve lived in someone’s shadow treated like Bedouin beggars from the 7th century. Now they’re applying the “Golden Rule” He who has the gold, [oil] expect to make some of the rules.
There’s much to fear from this new Islamic society encompassing the world, until we communicate rather than accommodate we aren’t likely to learn what their all about. This nation can’t continue to presume they know what they don’t know and make policy from no information.
A classic example of a failed policy is the embargo on Ciba lasting more than 40 years and what has it accomplished? It made American citizens out of nearly half the Cuban population. It killed thousand’s of Cubans trying to get to America. It turned much of the Hispanic community against America. The world laughs at a tiny Banana Republic holding the mighty America at bay for over 40 years. The embargo and Cuba’s isolation from America made Castro what he became the hero of the Hispanic people.
I have all the respect in the world for President George W. Bush his accomplishment are exceptional. George Bush has a failing he sees the world as Democratic and Undemocratic. This is a policy that isn’t selling around the world these days. The solution is to modify our rigid positions on issues and listen to alternatives policies this nation can accommodate without sacrificing our own sovereignty. The big sticks and soft words no longer impress other nations, there’s a wave of nationalism spreading over the globe that we can no longer control. It’s time to take a second look and establish a new policy toward other nations that affords them a choice regardless what it may be and how much we disagree.
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