Twitchy had a post yesterday on New York Times blogger Robert Mackey and a tweet of his where he wondered if President Obama’s decision to skip the unity march in Paris was all part of some brilliant, yet secret, strategy to help out on nuclear negotiations with Iran. Here’s what he said again:
Could concern about jeopardizing nuclear talks with Iran at a sensitive stage explain why US sent no representative to Paris march?
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) January 13, 2015
Ah, yes. You see? It’s not that we’re playing checkers and Obama is playing chess, it’s that Obama is playing chess in three dimensions and there’s no way we can possibly comprehend the complexities of his mind.
But now, based on comments made by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif today in Geneva, Mr. Mackey thinks we owe him an apology:
Now that Iran's Zarif has denounced #JeSuisCharlie rallies ahead of talks with Kerry, I look forward to accepting apology from @TwitchyTeam
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) January 14, 2015
Let’s take a look at what Zarif actually said, however. Reuters reports:
Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday serious dialogue with the West would be easier if it respected Muslim sensitivities, ruffled by the latest Charlie Hebdo cartoons, as he held nuclear talks with the chief U.S. diplomat.
And…
Zarif also sought to explain why Iranians are dismayed by the cover of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s Jan. 14 edition, which features a cartoon of a tearful Prophet Mohammad with a sign “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) below the headline: “Tout est pardonné” (All is forgiven).
Many Muslims regard depictions of Mohammad as blasphemous.
[…]
“We believe that sanctities need to be respected,” Zarif said. “We won’t be able to engage in a serious dialogue if we start disrespecting each other’s values.”
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One, it’s funny how this respect “each other’s values” is always a one-way street with Iran and other Islamic nations and two, it doesn’t sound like Zarif is criticizing the #JeSuisCharlie rally in Paris as much as he’s angry at the latest cover of Charlie Hebdo featuring a tearful Mohammad.
Anyway, there’s still no evidence that President Obama’s failure to attend the rally in Paris or have someone from the administration do so, had anything to do with Iranian nuclear negotiations.
We will also point out to Mr. Mackey that after his tweet yesterday, press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that President Obama would have liked to have attended the rally and that it was a mistake for the administration not to send “someone with a higher profile.” Or does Mr. Mackey think Earnest is lying to reporters in order to keep Obama’s Iran negotiating strategy under wraps?
Verdict: No apology.
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Related:
NYT blogger scrapes to find the secret brilliance in Obama’s failure
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