Most of the world was hoping that American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki would have a civil discussion over dinner in Egypt Thursday night. The dinner was on the beach and the seating arrangements had Rice and Mottaki sitting right across from each other. Unfortunately, Mottaki walked in, saw the seating arrangements and then made an excuse about a violinist, hired for entertainment, being dressed too revealingly. He excused himself and left.
Mottaki and Rice did exchange brief pleasantries earlier, at lunch.
The Iranian entered the lunch, greeting the gathered diplomats with the Arabic phrase, “As-salama aleikum,” or “Peace be upon you,” according to an Iraqi official who was present.
Rice replied to him in English, “Hello,” then added: “Your English is better than my Arabic,” according to the Iraqi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the lunch was private.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit then piped in, telling Mottaki, “We want to warm the atmosphere some.”
Mottaki smiled and replied in English with a saying: “In Russia, they eat ice cream in winter because it’s warmer than the weather” — more or less meaning, “You take whatever atmosphere-warming you can get.”
“That’s true,” Rice replied, according to the Iraqi official.
This is a pretty sad display. Everyone wants the U.S. and Iran to improve their relations and enter into a dialogue. And they can’t even sit across from each other and have dinner.
I can’t blame Rice for this. She showed up and was ready to be pleasant. I wish both the U.S. and the Iranians would act like grown-ups. There is too much at stake to play silly games.
Fortunately, there was some positive news that came out of the summit.
Separately Thursday, summit participants agreed on the International Compact with Iraq — an ambitious blueprint to stabilize the nation.
The plan sets benchmarks to achieve a stable, united, democratic Iraq within five years. It defines international help for Iraq — including debt relief — but also sets tough commitments on the Baghdad government, particularly carrying out reforms aimed at giving Iraq’s Sunni Arabs a greater role in the political process.
The Iraqi government, the United Nations and many of the more than 60 countries and international organizations gathered here hailed the launch of the blueprint as a milestone.
This is somewhat similar to what the Baker-Hamilton commission recommended and the Democrats tried to enact into law in the supplemental funding bill. It’s good to see some progress moving on a different front.
It’s difficult to simultaneously root for Rice to make some progress abroad when she is refusing to comply Congressional requests that she appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. But, for the good of the nation, and for the good of Iraq, I hope she has made some progress on this trip.
