Obama, Edwards say they would meet with Castro, Chávez
Hillary Clinton makes no such commitment
Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC), U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) applaud at the start of their CNN/YouTube debate in Charleston, South Carolina on the campus of The Citadel, July 23, 2007. REUTERS/Chris Keane
BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
July 23, 2007
Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards suggested Monday that they would meet with two leaders who top South Florida's most-hated list: Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.
During a nationally televised debate, Obama responded to a hypothetical question: ``Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?
The senator from Illinois responded: ``I would, and the reason is this: the notion that somehow not talking to countries is somehow punishing them, which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration, is ridiculous.''
``Ronald Reagan and Democratic presidents like JFK constantly spoke to the Soviet Union at a time when Ronald Reagan called them an evil empire, and the reason is because they understood that we may not trust them, that they may pose an extraordinary danger to this country, but we have the obligation to find areas where we can potentially move forward.''
He added: ``And I think it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them.''
The Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, disagreed with her leading rival: ``I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year. . .I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes and don't want to make a situation even worse, but I certainly agree that we need to get back to diplomacy, which has been turned into a bad word by this administration.''
The question was then posed to Edwards, who said, ``Yes, I think Senator Clinton is right, though. Before that meeting takes place, we need to do the work, the diplomacy to make sure the meeting is not going to be used for propaganda purposes.''
(click here to view entire report)
Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC), U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) applaud at the start of their CNN/YouTube debate in Charleston, South Carolina on the campus of The Citadel, July 23, 2007. REUTERS/Chris Keane BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
July 23, 2007
Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards suggested Monday that they would meet with two leaders who top South Florida's most-hated list: Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.
During a nationally televised debate, Obama responded to a hypothetical question: ``Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?
The senator from Illinois responded: ``I would, and the reason is this: the notion that somehow not talking to countries is somehow punishing them, which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration, is ridiculous.''
``Ronald Reagan and Democratic presidents like JFK constantly spoke to the Soviet Union at a time when Ronald Reagan called them an evil empire, and the reason is because they understood that we may not trust them, that they may pose an extraordinary danger to this country, but we have the obligation to find areas where we can potentially move forward.''
He added: ``And I think it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them.''
The Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, disagreed with her leading rival: ``I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year. . .I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes and don't want to make a situation even worse, but I certainly agree that we need to get back to diplomacy, which has been turned into a bad word by this administration.''
The question was then posed to Edwards, who said, ``Yes, I think Senator Clinton is right, though. Before that meeting takes place, we need to do the work, the diplomacy to make sure the meeting is not going to be used for propaganda purposes.''
(click here to view entire report)
- Original article
- Login or register to post comments
Real World Radio
NACLA News
Narco News
User login
Syndicate
