Opinion: Hillary Clinton now takes Obama line on Iran
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, who during the presidential campaign famously ridiculed rival Barack Obama for being naive enough to suggest direct talks with Iran, is softening her tune.
On Monday, President Obama offered a diplomatic opening to Iran during an interview on Al Arabiya, the Dubai-based satellite TV news channel. In his first major television interview, Obama echoed the language of his inaugural address when he said:
‘If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.’
Asked about the president’s remarks during her first news conference as secretary of State today, Clinton said:
‘There is a clear opportunity for the Iranians, as the president expressed in his interview, to demonstrate some willingness to engage meaningfully with the international community. Whether or not that hand becomes less clenched is really up to them.’
Ah, what a difference a few months make.
With Mideast envoy George Mitchell already in the region, Obama also said during his Al Arabiya interview that he did not want the United States to arrive with a plan of its own making:
‘All too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues -- and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved. So let’s listen. He’s going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response.’
-- Johanna Neuman