Israel Matzav

Deputy Secretary of State Burns tells Turkish news agency Obama believes Iran has a right to develop nuclear energy

In Ankara on Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns sat down with the Andalou News Agency for an interview that's been reproduced on the State Department web site. I thought that this little bit might be of interest to you (Hat Tip: Will).

The United States and Turkey share a common concern about Iran’s nuclear program and a common interest in ensuring that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.... But we are also, at the same time, deeply concerned about Iran’s failure to live up to its international obligations. For this reason, we have sought to work with friends and partners around the world to try to demonstrate that there are consequences to not living up to those obligations. President Obama has made clear on many occasions that the question is not whether or not Iran has a right to the peaceful development of nuclear energy, it is whether Iran is living up to the responsibilities that come with that right, just as we would ask of any country around the world. We want to work with Turkey and with our other partners to try to make this clear to the Iranian leadership.

No. You don't have a right to peaceful development of nuclear energy and then obligations and responsibilities (what obligations and responsibilities?) that go with it. You have obligations and responsibilities to other nations, and you only have a right to develop nuclear energy if you do so in a manner that's consistent with those obligations.

The Obama administration cannot tell the difference.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iranian nuclear threat

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:29 PM