Israel Matzav

Swiss foreign minister favors direct talks with Bin Laden

Agence France Press is reporting that Switzerland's moonbat foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey (pictured here in the obligatory hijab at a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) told a gathering of Swiss diplomats on Monday that she favors direct talks between her country and Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden (Hat Tip: Shy Guy via Dhimmi Watch).

Micheline Calmy-Rey, who has raised both eyebrows and hackles with her controversial style, told Swiss ambassadors gathered in the capital Bern that they needed to talk to "heavyweight political figures" on the world stage even if they are considered persona non grata by other powers.

"This even goes as far as sitting down at the same table as Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden," she said.

Switzerland does not have any list of banned organisations to which it will not talk, unlike other countries.

Calmy-Rey said that groups as diverse as Hezbollah, the FARC guerrillas in Colombia, Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda are all "essential in the search for a resolution" of different conflicts worldwide.

She stressed however that any dialogue did not mean "accepting the unacceptable," and conceded that it could sometimes lead to tensions and "complex political blockages".

Does Calmy-Rey believe that any of these terror organizations are actually going to behave like states and respect her country's neutrality? When a state talks with a 'revolution,' it legitimizes the 'revolution' granting it power and credibility that it does not deserve. Amir Taheri pointed out in the Wall Street Journal while discussing Iran three months ago why having 'talks' with 'revolutions' doesn't work:

The Arabs, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have been negotiating with the mullahs for years – the Egyptians over restoring diplomatic ties cut off by Tehran, and the Saudis on measures to stop Shiite-Sunni killings in the Muslim world – with nothing to show for it. Since 1993, the Russians have tried to achieve agreement on the status of the Caspian Sea through talks with Tehran, again without results.

The reason is that Iran is gripped by a typical crisis of identity that afflicts most nations that pass through a revolutionary experience. The Islamic Republic does not know how to behave: as a nation-state, or as the embodiment of a revolution with universal messianic pretensions. Is it a country or a cause?

A nation-state wants concrete things such as demarcated borders, markets, access to natural resources, security, influence, and, of course, stability – all things that could be negotiated with other nation-states. A revolution, on the other hand, doesn't want anything in particular because it wants everything.

Iran at least has a defined territory. Al-Qaeda does not. What Calmy-Rey hopes to accomplish by talking to al-Qaeda is anyone's guess. But whatever it is, she's not likely to accomplish it.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:49 PM