Israel Matzav

Oops!

I guess the Obumbler didn't bow low enough to Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The following correction appears in Wednesday's New York Times:

Correction: April 14, 2010

A headline in some copies on Tuesday about China’s position on possible sanctions against Iran if it does not curb its nuclear program overstated a promise that President Hu Jintao of China made to President Obama in a meeting in Washington on Monday. As the article noted, Mr. Hu said that his country would join negotiations over the sanctions. He did not say that China supports such sanctions.

Oops! Why would someone make a mistake like that? Heh.

Hu's 'commitment' is completely meaningless. In fact, it's less than meaningless.

As US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao prepared for the second day of the Washington nuclear summit Tuesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said sanctions were not a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, according to AFP.

Following a meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Monday, the two leaders had stated that their respective countries “shared the same overall goal on the Iranian nuclear issue.” The statement followed months of action by the UN and Western powers to warm China toward the possibility of sanctions on Teheran.

Tuesday’s statement from Beijing reportedly called for a “dual-track strategy” in which diplomacy and dialogue with Teheran on the issue of its nuclear development and defiant rhetoric would continue as world leaders mull the possibility of sanctions.

"China always believes that dialogue and negotiation are the best way out for the issue. Pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu was quoted as saying.

President Obama has given the Chinese a veto power over sanctions by refusing to implement any sanctions that are not approved by the UN Security Council where China has a veto.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:14 PM