The World
A Lot of Talk About Whether to Talk
Stop enriching nuclear fuel that could be diverted into bombs--and receive a slew of benefits on trade, security, and even a light-water nuclear reactor. Or persist with your atomic program, and watch your country be sanctioned and isolated. That is the "clear choice," as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put it last week, now faced by Iran. Rice and top diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China--meeting in Vienna, Austria--agreed on a package of incentives and at least implied penalties. The precise terms, not yet disclosed, will be presented first to Tehran. "The goal is not to embarrass the Iranians," says a senior U.S. official. "This is a good-faith effort."
The initial reaction from Iran was not positive--no suspension of enrichment--but diplomats say they believe that is not the final word. The Vienna agreement followed the most significant shift to date in President Bush's Iran policy: Under deepening pressure abroad and at home, Rice announced that for the first time the United States would sit with the Europeans and negotiate directly with Iran--as long as it first suspends enrichment.
Rice, who said the shift removes "the last excuse" for Iran not to return to talks, overcame the skepticism of administration hawks who oppose any concessions to an alleged state sponsor of terrorism they believe is bent on building nukes. Bush sided with Rice after receiving assurances from Russia and China--U.N. Security Council members that have resisted harsher measures against Iran--that they would support a resolution and some sanctions if Iran flouts the new demand, U.S. News has learned. Oft criticized for sitting out past talks with Iran, Bush described this "robust" diplomacy as showing Washington would now "take the lead" on dealing with Iran.
Feeling the Heat in a Syrian Summer
Like father, like son? So it seems in Syria, where President Bashar Assad appears to be taking a page from his father's playbook in how to be a strongman. Syrian authorities have arrested dozens of human-rights activists and other dissidents in recent weeks--but it seems to be a move more out of weakness than strength. A much-awaited U.N. report is due out June 15 on Syria's ties to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, and Syrian exiles are gathering in London this week to discuss how to bring regime change. Leading the opposition National Salvation Front are two unlikely partners: One is former Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, a secular former Hafez Assad loyalist who broke with Bashar Assad and accused him of ordering Hariri's murder. The other is Ali Sadreddin Bayanouni, leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.
A Standout in Latin America's Left Turn
Bucking the leftist tide in Latin America, voters in Colombia gave a second term to conservative President Alvaro Uribe, 53, making him the first incumbent to win re-election in Colombia in more than a century. His 62 percent of the vote qualifies as a landslide over his leftist challenger, Sen. Carlos Gaviria (whose 22 percent of the vote still was a record for the left in the conservative country). With Colombia ranked as the world's largest cocaine producer, Uribe is a key U.S. ally in the war on drugs.
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