Iran’s theocratic dictatorship once again has thrown up an obstacle to diplomatic resolution of the nuclear stalemate. The New York Times today reported that Iran has rejected the U.S-conceived, U.N.-backed plan for temporarily easing tensions over Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program. After initially reaching an “agreement in principle” to export roughly 70 percent of its known supplies of low-enriched uranium, Tehran once again has backed away from the P5&1 proposal and instead has presented a counter-proposal (details yet to be revealed) that is sure to fall short of what is necessary to relieve international concerns over its illicit nuclear efforts.
One frustrated diplomat involved in the nuclear talks with the Iranians was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as saying: “It’s like playing chess with a monkey. You get them to checkmate, and then they swallow the king.”
But Iran, which claims to have invented the game of chess, should not be underestimated. It is outsmarting the western diplomats that it is negotiating with by stretching out the negotiations while it continues to enrich uranium. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has trumpeted the negotiations as a victory for Iran over western adversaries. In a speech yesterday he proclaimed: “Once they told us to stop [nuclear work]. Now they express readiness to cooperate with us in exchange of fuel, expansion of the technology and construction of power plants and atomic reactors.”
Iran also probably still has nuclear chess pieces hidden under the table that it will reveal triumphantly at the end of the game. At that point, with a nuclear weapon in hand, Tehran will declare checkmate – or in Farsi: “shah mat” (“the king is ambushed” or “helpless”).
For more on Iran, see: Iran Briefing Room
It looks like Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) isn’t happy with Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak’s efforts to make sure that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions in any new health care plan.
From The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room:
During an interview on C-SPAN’s ‘Washington Journal’ show, Stupak (D-Mich.) said he is undeterred in trying to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions. Stupak, who opposes abortion rights, acknowledged that some in his party are upset with his public campaign to change the bill.
‘The Speaker is not happy with me,’ Stupak said.
Stupak has pulled together 40 like-minded Democrats who plan to block healthcare reform legislation from coming to a vote on the House floor if the bill includes federal subsidies for abortions. As The Hill reports, “Stupak wants a vote on the House floor to strike the language, and predicts he would have the votes to pass such an amendment.”
Why is this an issue?
Even though President Barack Obama pledged, “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions,” The Foundry previously reported that Obamacare will force the American people to pay for abortions because there is no law to prevent it from happening. What’s more, a provision known as the Hyde amendment, which blocks federal dollars from being spent on Health and Human Services programs, doesn’t apply to the health care reform.
But don’t take our word for it. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to Congress on October 8th writing: “No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. … No current bill meets this test.”