Albright Talks and Talks...

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright has her thoughts on Iran:

The rise of Iran is an unintended consequence of the war in Iraq, but the United States would be wise to counter the nuclear threat with direct talks instead of saber rattling, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Tuesday night in Seattle.

"It's not appeasement. You've got to deliver a tough message," she told a sellout audience of 800 people at Town Hall.

The rise of Iran is not an unintended consequence of the war in Iraq. The Iranians have been trying to get nukes since well before 9/11.

Ahmadinejad has just upped the ante with his flaming rhetoric and calls to "wipe Israel off the map".

Albright believes that someone high in the Bush administration should give a speech in response to the recent letter sent to the president by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The letter criticizes U.S. foreign policy in a number of areas, including the war in Iraq and backing of Israel.

Of course Madeline thinks the letter should be addressed. Ms. Albright fails to see that the letter was written as propaganda. The left and Iran (cozy in bed it seems) think that the letter is proof that the Ayatollahs want talks to prevent escalation. The leter is nothing but cover to continue building their nuclear arsenal.

Of course to a woman who was taken in by North Korea in one of the greatest State Department blunders ever, it seems legitimate.

Though difficult to hear, the issues raised are "not irrelevant," said Albright, who served under President Clinton. "Rather than thinking it's a clash of civilizations, I think we are in a battle of ideas."

Ok, Ms. Albright, I'll bite, what ideas do you support? Which side of the battle are you on?

Whereas the United States should help other nations, it should remember that "democracy is a policy, not a mission," Albright said, and there is "no divine calling to spread democracy."

There may be no "divine calling" but basic human rights demand that people have the ability to decide who will lead them and under which type of system they wish to live. Perhaps if democracy was a policy under the Clinton administration, we'd see more of it in the world.

Since Bush has been in office, we've had elections in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq, during Clinton's terms we saw democracy pushed to the back burner and we now suffer because of it.

She didn't think the publication of Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, an act that sparked outrage and rioting among Muslims earlier this year, was worth it.

Though she is a strong supporter of the First Amendment, Albright also said "good taste and propriety" are needed in dealing with today's religious sensibilities.

"We are living in a very dangerous era. Responsible people should not play with matches when they're in oil spills," she said.

Of course Madeline didn't think the cartoon publications were worth it. Because she is an appeaser. If "good taste and propriety" are needed in dealing with religion as she believes, that is not agreeing with the First Amendment. People have the right, as wotnessed by Stephen Colbert to say anything they wish (no matter how unfunny).

Her response to the cartoon fiasco gives a view into just how blinded and wrong she is.

Update: Related thoughts at the WSJ.

Update 2: Allahpundit has video of Albright. You can see her inanity in living color.