Posted on 10/22/2006 6:21:02 AM PDT by Hadean
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A senior U.S. diplomat said the United States had shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq but was ready to talk with any group except Al-Qaida in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera television aired late yesterday, Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, offered an unusually candid assessment of America’s war in Iraq.
"We tried to do our best, but I think there is much room for criticism because, undoubtedly, there was arrogance and there was stupidity from the United States in Iraq," he said.
"We are open to dialogue because we all know that, at the end of the day, the solution to the hell and the killings in Iraq is linked to an effective Iraqi national reconciliation," he said, speaking in Arabic from Washington. "The Iraqi government is convinced of this."
The question of negotiations between the United States and insurgency factions has repeatedly surfaced over the past two years, but details have been sketchy. One issue that was often raised in connection with such negotiations was the extent of amnesty the United States and its Iraqi allies were willing to offer to the insurgents if they disarmed and joined the political process.
Fernandez spoke to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera after a man claiming to speak for Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Ba’ath Party told the network the United States was seeking a face-saving exodus from Iraq and that insurgents were ready to negotiate but won’t lay down arms.
"Abu Mohammed," a pseudonym for the man, appeared to set near-impossible conditions for the start of any talks with the Americans, including the return to service of Saddam’s armed forces, the annulment of every law adopted since Saddam’s ouster, the recognition of insurgent groups as the sole representatives of the Iraqi people and a timetable for a gradual, unconditional withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops in Iraq.
"The occupier has started to search for a face-saving way out. The resistance, with all its factions, is determined to continue fighting until the enemy is brought down to his knees and sits on the negotiating table or is dealt, with God’s help, a humiliating defeat," he said. The man wore a suit and appeared to be in his 40s, but his face was concealed.
I heard that ex-ambassador joe wilson was the
"DIPS!IT... I MEAN DIPLOMAT THAT SPEWED THESE dnc TALKING POINTS.
LLS
Fire the bastard and then charge him with treason and aiding and abetting the enemy. WHAT THE EFF IS WRONG WITH OUR DOS? Are they all treasonous bastards?
ar·ro·gance Pronunciation (r-gns)I hear the word "arrogance" a lot, especially in the foreign press relative to the US foreign policy. So what am I supposed to understand from this?
The state or quality of being arrogant; overbearing pride. Overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
haughtiness, hauteur, highhandedness, lordliness
pride - the trait of being spurred on by a dislike of falling below your standards
hubris - overbearing pride or presumption
domineeringness, imperiousness, overbearingness - the trait of being imperious and overbearing
condescension, disdainfulness, superciliousness - the trait of displaying arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
superiority - displaying a sense of being better than others; "he hated the white man's superiority and condescension"
snobbery, snobbishness - the trait of condescending to those of lower social status
Lord it's hard to be humble
When you're pefect in every way
The State Department is supposed to be promoting the foreign policy of the United States and the President, not subverting it.
I wouldn't fire this guy and make a martyr out of him. The Left would surely use him to promote their agenda. I would transfer him into the basement of the DOS and make him clean toilets for the rest of his tenure.
Bush has become like a deer caught in the headlights. GW has to get some "balls" and clean house in both the CIA and DOS.
http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=5572554&nav=0jsh
"a State Department spokesman says the diplomat, Alberto Fernandez, doesn't think the reports of his comments are an "accurate reflection of what he said.""
He probably said something along the "mistakes were made" theme.
But then AlJazeera or AP must be lying.
That couldn't be! If you can't trust AP and AlJazeera who can you trust...
Fire the SOB right now.
"A senior U.S. diplomat said the United States had shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq"
"Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State"
Alberto Fernandez, 44, a public affairs officer?
http://future.state.gov/who/diplomats/44794.htm
"he said, speaking in Arabic from Washington"
Same can be said about the state dept.
Throw in The New York Times, the L.A. Times, and the Wasington Post - all very reliable news sources - and you have a complete picture. It's those right wing blogs, forums, and talk shows you have to watch. They are spreaders of evil and bias.
From what I see of Fernandez he strikes me as a good guy so I tend to not believe this.
See this thread too.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1723739/posts?page=30#30
He probably said something along the "mistakes were made" theme. But then AlJazeera or AP must be lying.
That couldn't be! If you can't trust AP and AlJazeera who can you trust...
Trust them or not, they're sticking to their story:
A US state department spokesman on Saturday said that Fernandez alleged he had not been quoted accurately in the interview.
Sean McCormack said: "What he [Fernandez] says is that it is not an accurate quote."
However, Aljazeera said Fernandez' interview had been rechecked and confirmed the comments were accurate and the words "arrogance" and "stupidity" were used.
I'd guess Frenandez swallowed his own foot, and should be transferred immediately to new duties,stamping visas in Mongolia!
Otherwise intelligent individuals may also become stupid when their rational thought is derailed by strong opinions or rigid beliefs. In this case the victim falls into confirmation bias and begins selecting data: becoming intentionally blind and deaf to contrary evidence, while at the same time collecting evidence which supports the beliefs. Rather than being based on low intelligence or missing knowledge, this is the stupidity of closed-mindedness and willful ignorance. Note that modern science specifically evolved to combat this form of stupidity. During scientific thought we should constantly criticise our own beliefs and assumptions (attempt to disprove hypotheses), while also using humility and extreme self-honesty to reduce our ego-based biases.
This guy Fernandez has really lost it. He is the antithesis of a diplomat. He must be really tired of his job!
Apparently it was a foot in mouth moment:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/22/fernandez.statement/
"Upon reading the transcript of my appearance on Al-Jazeera, I realized that I seriously misspoke by using the phrase 'there has been arrogance and stupidity' by the U.S. in Iraq," Alberto Fernandez said in an e-mail sent to reporters by the State Department and attributed to him.
"This represents neither my views nor those of the State Department. I apologize," the statement said.
"
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