BRUSSELS (Reuters) – In its first public overture to Tehran, the Obama administration intends to invite Iran to an international conference on Afghanistan planned for this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Thursday.
“If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran would be invited as a neighbor of Afghanistan,” Clinton told a news conference in Brussels after meeting NATO foreign ministers.
President Barack Obama, in a dramatic turnaround from Bush administration policy, has said the United States wants to engage Iran on a range of issues and the conference invitation would be the start of diplomatic outreach to Tehran.
Clinton proposed the conference, which brings in Afghanistan’s other neighbors including Pakistan and other major players, would take place on March 31.
“It is a way of bringing all the stakeholders and interested parties together,” said Clinton.
Iran borders Afghanistan and worked closely with the United States after the U.S. military offensive there to topple the Taliban and fight al Qaeda following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
The United States is at loggerheads with Iran on a range of issues, including its nuclear program which Washington says is aimed at building an atomic bomb. Tehran says its program is for peaceful power purposes.
“Our task is to dissuade them, deter them and prevent from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Clinton said.
_________________________________
Call me a skeptic if you will, but I don’t think this overture is going to turn out the way the Obama Administration hopes.
Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Iran, state department
Wouldn’t that be funny if Hillary and Bibi walked into that conference holding hands like high school kids?
LOL!
Yeah, uhm… they’ve already said they will not be dissuaded, deterred or prevented…
Iran needs land, it needs money, and it wants influence.
There’s nothing this plebe can say or do to change the minds of the Twelvers in Iran.
Forget Mahmoud Ahmadamndingdong, it’s the Supreme Council that makes all decisions.
The Geopolitics of Iran.
/videe well, oh my brothers!(and sisters)
Great link, n2l!
(Testing anon comments- arwyn)
anons get 5 mins to edit. Not bad.
AKm,
I love the new goodies!
Thanks AKm…for everything.
I just love…good links.
Alex is back, the links look good, Arwyn is still the hottest avatar on site and Obama still hasn’t a clue. Nice to be home.
Welcome back, Sparky.
cp…
Yah, my black box is back
But will Iran be willing to meet at a table with the Great Satan?
The text is not wrapping around the avatar images in IE 7.
I noticed that too Escovado. Wondered if it was just me.
I wonder if I will get an avatar if I revert back to last nights song_and_and_man?
Let see if B. Hussein set preconditions to inviting Iran the menace to this hope and change shindig.
song, it looks like anyone using a gravatar from wordpress can make it work.
Mine is visible and I recognize some other gravatars.
Just sayin….
I have a wordpress account and for some unknown reason I can’t seem to load a gravatar. And I have my music notes all ready too.
Yes, the avatars in IE are eating the text! Attack of the killer avatars!
I’m confused. Is it me? Do I need to do something about the avatars or is this programming issue?
Nice wienies No2.
Ha! This is very strange.
Ya maybe we can just type around it.
the avatars and text look fine in firefox.
S&D Man
Have you tired gravatar?
http://en.gravatar.com/
test
test 2
And just like everyone, it does not look good in IE7.
The text is under the avatar.
bar
I think I got it now but have to wait 10 minutes. Changing it from gravatar.com worked, whereas trying to change it from my wordpress account dashboard would not.
Why the hell does everyone use that damn IE? Shitty ass memory hog.
Songanddance,
Come on show us test 3! Ok, now I’m testing and editing.
So, are Hillary and O going to invite Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turmenistan, too? They border Afghanistan. Hey! They could invite China since it borders that skinny Afghan squiggle that juts up in the mountains.
I wonder if they will invite any of the NATO allies that have actually been fighting or helping out in Afghanistan.
Somehow this doesn’t fill me with HOPE.
Fuck, let Pakistan join in the fun too.
OK…test 3
aladamit.
But the gravatar now shows on my wordpress dashboard.
savage,
I think it’s only fair to let Pakistan join in. What the hell, maybe they all can form a conga line!
S&D,
Progress!
Is Saudi Arabia gonna join the party?
savage
Nah, they don’t border Afghanistan. Of course we can all see through the whole border qualifier since as Anastasia pointed out there are many other nations that border it. This is just a ruse to make a way to meet with Iran with no preconditions as promised by B. Hussein the communist.
That conga idea is GREAT!
Cool…my notes are appearing. Ahhh… I feel all normal again .
I can see it now. The vertically challenged Achminijad behind Rodham in the conga line with his hands on her lower thighs.
S&D Man
That avatar is nice!
Song has his notes back! Isn’t that exciting! I haven’t seen them since 1.0 days!
Not that I can see them, mind you. I’m STILL getting the black box.
I’ll try refreshing.
bar
I started using it back at 1.0.
Phooey! No notes!
How can I do the conga without notes?
song, the reason I brought up the KSA is they are MUSLIM and they are TERRORIST LOVERS.
That click-to-edit thing is nifty!
How can I do the conga without notes?
How do I explain it while being family-friendly? hehe
LOL ! You’re naughty!
Anastasia
Clear you cache. That’s how I got it to appear.
Savage
I was ready to suggest Israel be invited as well, since they are the target of Muslim aggression. But they would no go. Althoug, it is being reported, they will soon pay Iran a visit with more than a diplomatic portfolio of words.
Savage,
It’s after 10, pg is OK. Major leaps today on the techie side. Firefox looks great!
Thanks for the tech update, Sparky.
cp, cp
I went to gravatar and got one. Have no idea if it will post. I don’t really understand the whole thing. Obviously I’m challenged.
You and me both, Annie!
Annie,
The site says it takes 5-10 minutes, but it took mine about 20 minutes to appear.
Clearing your cache will help.
I can’t remember the 1.0 poster that used this one, but I think it’s one that savage will like.
Slumbering Behemoth, I think.
Anastasia
Yeah, that’s it. Does 1.0 still allow avatars? I can’t log on so I can’t tell.
Admins
Does our option to edit comments mean that others can’t see it till the allowed to edit time has expired?
LOL ! Just heard from someone over at 1.0 who’s ticked off. Chuckie’s 2 prime-time threads were about an obscure blogger who said something nice about him and about the usual evolution stuff.
Anastasia, is there anything ELSE that goes on over there?
Song—-Yes, they still have avatars.
If they meet with the Emperor’s approval, that is. He inspects them for ideological purity. Y’no, to make sure they aren’t secret neo-Nazi-fascist-racist-creationist symbols.
Seriously!
Song and Dance, what’s a cache?
Everytime I go to FU LGF there is another creationist story. Weird as hell. Glad this blog is here but I’m a little frustrated with the avatar thing blocking the type.
Good point, savage! That’s par for the course these days.
Annie, I think the admins will figure out a way to make it IE compatible. There are a lot of IE fools out here that hang out here or may stop by.
In the meantime, if any us IEers give you guys a strange response, it may be because we were just guessing at the text behind the avatar!
I’m gonna talk to someone about this avatar problem.
They should work perfectly on every platform.
Annie
Cache is a virtual memory of static stuff loaded from sites, programs and things you do on your computer.
It you use firefox use the tools pull down menu to clear private data. If you use IE I don’t remember where it’s done, but most likely in a similar tools pull down menu.
The only time I go to 1.0 is when someone has a tidbit sampling or link of the ongoing loony hatred for creationists.
Oh I see Anastasia, its IE. I still have no clue how to make the avatar show. LOL!
Song N D, the avatars are showing now by deleting the internet files.
Oh now the avatar shows. Does anyone know what it is?
Annie, it looks like a pissed off purple face.
Sorta like Darwinist Rage Boy at his finest hahaha
I used to play Pokemon Stadium years ago with my son and it reminds me of one of the Pokemon.
http://www.geocities.com/pokecrafter/voltorb.gif
It’s actually the Asian girl’s knee and the spiked ball from Kill Bill. This edit thing is messed up. How do I turn it off.
I still see the angry plum! I wish I could help you, but I don’t know what to do either.
The click-to-edit? I think you can just hit cancel or exit w/ the little X at the top right. (?)
Admin
Is there a way to turn of the edit thingy. It really is time consuming.
test the edit thingy
test 2.1
I THINK the comment posts right away. I don’t think it waits the whole 5 minutes.
Well, if my computer clock and this site’s are the same, I see my post right away.
It looks like you get 5 minutes to edit AFTER you post. (???)
Songanddance,
“I can see it now. The vertically challenged Achminijad behind Rodham in the conga line with his hands on her lower thighs.”
You crack me up. Ha!
posted at 11.28
Changed 2 minutes later?
Hagar! I keeeeel you!
“There is no fun in Islam!”–Ayatollah Khomeini
Anastasia
I think that’s right. I changed my comment after the first posting.
We see our OWN comments right away, but does everyone else? Or do they only see them after we click save—I mean, assuming we hit click-to-save? Oh never mind! I don’t even understand my own question!
I think I’d better hit the hay!
Anastasia,
I have no idea what my avatar is. Grumpy guy with glasses? Or just confused looking? Ha! Maybe they are personality oriented. But I don’t think you’re an angry plum.
Hey, Annie! If you’re still here, your Kill Bill avatar is showing up on the home page in the Comments list!
(Well, actually it’s showing up whether you’re still here or not.)
HOPE!
Hagar, Yours looks like a stop sign with a hangover. I’m not sure what mine is. C3PO in a blue hockey mask?
At least ya’ll don;t have a black box like I did since avatars were allowed here.
Hope and Change.
If Russia is invited to Rodhams Afganistan shindig Putin and Ahmadinejad can form an Umpa Lumpa conga line of two.
aladamit
Anastasia,
LOL. You’re right it does look like a stop sign that’s had a bit too much.
I really don’t know about yours. Maybe an angry
blue alien?
Songanddance,
You have my sympathy…I’d love to see the musical notes you’ve been trying to show!
My thanks to the Admin. for giving giggles on this bad stock market news day.
Hagar
My notes are showing.
Songanddance,
If they are. I ain’t seeing them! Maybe they’re bashful?
“the avatars and text look fine in firefox.”
Unfortunetly, 70% of the internet traffic is IE. Did you guys write your own code to show the avatars or did it come with this blog software?
Songanddance,
aladamit very funny. He is a little munchkin isn’t he?
I can’t wait until Israel steps on him, like a nasty little cochroach, that he is.
Songanddance,
Just did a clear cache and history on Safari and voila, there’s your notes! Very nice, I might add.
song_and_dance_man, I’m using Fire Fox, and your avatar shows up as a black box; is that what it’s supposed to be?
As I was saying in another thread, I’ve lost the red umbrella avatar I was formerly using (I’m “Rainy Day” and “Rainy Day Weather” posting now as “CloudyDay”).
I kind of like my new avatar, though.
I’m not sure how to change it anyhow.
Cloudyday,
Try clearing the Fox Fire cache. It worked for me in Safari. It took a little while for it to change, so if it doesn’t change right away, give it a little time.
Song and Dance- never mind; I did the cache clearing trick, and I see your avatar now (music notes)!
Hagar: thank you
You can fix the avatar’s text wrapping problem with IE if you move the “img” tag for it from the “div” tag with the class name “comm_panel” and place it into the “div” with the “comm_text” class name.
Looking at your HTML code, IE7 is actually interpreting the markup correctly since the avatar’s “img” tag is in a different “div” as the text. Firefox is just being for forgiving and allowing the CSS “float” attribute to affect the markup in a different “div” that the image is incorrectly overlapping.
Cloudyday,
Your welcome.
Yay! I look like a man again!! HEEHEE! So now why exactly are we meeting with Iran…in Afghanistan? Isn’t that all kinds of messed up? Aren’t we supposed to be bombing the latter and planning to bomb the former? Did I get something wrong? Wait, don’t answer that guys…LOL.
I live the new look here too, nice, even though I was hoping that the video thing would work…I even recorded a few greeting for everyone here:(
(Off Topic.)
I’m a huge fan of horrid art, so when I saw this, I wanted to share:
Obama Inspires Army of Terrible Artists
Cloudy,
Good grief! Obama and his third eye? That’s some really, really bad art. On that, I will now call it a night.
HAHA!! Someone did a mock attack post on Charles and he posted on it, but the lizards were too slow in figuring out it’s satire! It’s effing hilarious! “It’s satire guys”. That may be comment of the week for me…LOL….it’s here:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/32986_Et_Tu_Meryl
I just add the whole URL because I don’t know how many other people here have their IPs blocked too…ROFL! It’s short and funny though. I guess their “lizard brains” haven’t yet evolved.
Lex
I’ve heard them do that over there before! Dumb asses. Why would we want to block IP?
I like your avatar, it’s spooky.
The person who wrote the page (”The heck with Little Green Footballs”) that is supposed to be “funny” doesn’t ‘get it’; here’s one comment she wrote:
Maybe the person behind that blog (Meryl, is it?) is otherwise a perfectly fine, nice person, but she is stunningly misinformed and naive about LGF1, Johnson, and how Johnson (unreasonably and in an irrational manner) started the bickering going on among the various blogs, and on people who once posted at his blog.
Poster #7 (”LynnB”) is incorrrect as well: plenty of people have been banned from LGF1 without good reason.
I for one never called Johnson any names or misbehaved there. I also never told Johnson what to post and what not to post about either.
Near as I can tell, I was banned from his site for the horrible crime of linking to a few sites that give refutations of macro evolution.
This comment in post #8 by “ladycatnip” was loaded with hypocrisy:
It’s a one way street at LGF1; who does she think she is kidding?
Johnson is foisting his Darwinist and anti-conservative views down the throats of everyone there, and anyone who even politely speaks up in disagreement gets banned (and usually ridiculed before that).
The shared idea, evidently, is that our conflict with Iran stems largely from a past failure to use so-called diplomacy to settle disputes. Alluding to George W. Bush’s supposedly tough policy, Obama has said he wants to restore “the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years” ago.
Really? Thirty years ago this November, followers of Ayatollah Khomeini, who spearheaded Iran’s Islamic revolution, stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took the personnel hostage. President Jimmy Carter gently admonished Iran, but ruled out military retaliation. Instead, his advisors spent months dreaming up schemes to bribe Iran into releasing the hostages – while bending over backward to enable the regime to save face. In the end, Khomeini’s Islamist theocracy collected a handsome payoff for its aggression and concluded, rightly, that if attacked America would crumple to its knees.
Was Obama thinking of the 1980s? In April 1983, Iran’s jihadist proxies in Lebanon rammed a truck bomb into the US Embassy in Beirut; the Reagan administration responded by doing nothing. Months later, encouraged by Washington’s inaction, Tehran issued a kill order – via its ambassador in Syria – to its allied groups in Beirut. Early one morning, an Islamist suicide bomber set off a massive explosion at the barracks where US Marines were sleeping and killed 241 of them. http://windsofbabylon.com/2009/03/06/obama-whitewashes-iran——by-elan-journo.aspx
Those attacks still anger me. I was furious over the USS Cole as well and the lack of reaction to that bombing. The idea of our soldiers getting blown up is so abhorrent to me. Good points, Storage. None of this has ever worked but it’s the only solution it seems that anyone will try.
Actually, my Great-Uncle was State Dept. (retired now) and left Iran a week before his colleagues there were taken hostage. I want to ask him about this if I get a chance. I’ve heard the story before, but I need a 2nd hearing. I swear I’m getting senile.
Except when it comes to the Blog Wars. I wrote a summary of the beginnings of the wars and Charles’ first posts dealing with the Brussels Summit. I need to look more though for the source of his anger–wasn’t he not invited for some reason? Or did he refuse to go? At any rate, he’s the one who started a little fire with this post:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=27592_Organizing_to_Resist_the_Islamization_of_Europe
That’s the one that inspired Pamela to compare his post to a CAIR press release here, which then led Charles to his “When Friends Attack” post where things really went crazy. It’s great reading the comments on these two LGF posts, the 2nd one being here:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/27653_When_Friends_Attack
I gave the URLs for those of us whose IPs are blocked. He banned the IP for half of Sphinx’s University just to block Sphinx! So yes, as I can attest to, Charles blocked my IP one day a last month or so when I was mailing him some things I thought would interest him, then on the 3rd one all of the sudden it switched to “FORBIDDEN”. I guess he looked at my link and my Blogger profile and saw LGFWatch in it and just tried to block me like he does to everyone there. I’m not even a contributor there anymore. But I guess my own site’s enough for his sensitive little ego. After all, one of his outraged comments was this:
#476 Charles
Some amazing comments being posted at your blog, Pamela. You’re approving those? I’m “effeminate” and a “total fool,” who “worries too much about being PC?”
Touchy, touchy there Charlie….
Thanks too, Annie, I love that Joker!
Crap, I think I really am getting senile, I already posted all of this on another thread and forgot it, went back and got all of the links again for this comment! This is Lex’s brain. This is Lex’s Brain after reading too much LGF 1.0.
I’m going to look this up at JW though, whether or not Charles was invited. I seem to remember that, though his full scale war on Vlaams Belang, Brussels Journal etc. that he just would not stop really did put all of this into motion. Not that I’m complaining actually, it’s working out just fine for me…LOL
ROFL….here’s Spencer writing about Charles’ habit of blocking people’s IPs from here:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023306.php
“Charles Johnson says of me in this LGF thread, “I won’t have anything to do with him. He’s behaving despicably.” You can see that here — he has classily blocked links from this site, so you can’t just click and go, but you can paste this link into your address bar and see it: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/showc/287/6184151. He has also fabricated out of whole cloth the claim that “if you believe what Spencer has written, Geert Wilders has apparently softened his opposition to groups like the Vlaams Belang too.” That one is here: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/showc/555/6184555. In reality, I have never written a single thing about what Geert Wilders thinks of Vlaams Belang, and I have no idea what Geert Wilders thinks about Vlaams Belang.”
So I guess this little habit of Charles is more widely known than I had figured!
Oh I get it, by blocking IP’s Chuck is just being the school yard bully. I hate bullies.
Lex, from what I read Charles was copied on all the preperatory emails about the summit, and he never answered or acknowledged any of them. It was only after everything was already said and done that Charles decided to throw in his two cents (I hope someone gave him change).