Monday, June 22, 2009
Speechless: US says hot dog diplomacy still on with Iran
The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters.
President Barack Obama's administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"There's no thought to rescinding the invitations to Iranian diplomats," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.
"We have made a strategic decision to engage on a number of fronts with Iran," Kelly said. "We tried many years of isolation, and we're pursuing a different path now."
But he said it was not clear if Iranian diplomats had accepted the invitations...
No, no thought whatsoever. Hope for me but not for thee. Change? In the wrong direction. They say George Bush sacrificed America's moral standing? He couldn't hold a candle to this administration's self inflicted wounds. Engagement taken to absurd heights. Mind the needle.
And mind the blood on the grill.
[via Weasel Zippers and Allahpundit on Twitter]
Mr. Obama has no shame
NPR reported today that the White House has rescinded the invitations, but there was no mention of whether any Iranian diplomats had ever expressed any interest in showing up at any embassy's party or whether the hot dogs would have been made without pork or whether they would have Halal certification.