May 22-2008:
Meeting With World Leaders Or State Leaders?
We live in
a world where some segments of this community feels that they have superior morality over others. And that is a fact of life.
Having said that, I will also add, that the current back and forth between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama about who would or would not sit with Iran's current leadership, is a case in point. On the world stage, states that have been recognized as such, and have been members of The United Nations, have some protocols that they honor, and expect their leaders to follow when dealing with or meeting with each other.
On the diplomatic front, ambassadors are the fronline communicators and initiators for their governments, followed by their respective governmental leaders,such as Prime Ministers or Presidents. This protocol has been practiced for centuries now, and seems to be the expected mode to adopt, when dealing diplomatically with other nation states.
So accusing Senator Barack Obama as naive is most ridiculous. Because if he is elected to the presidency, he too will follow those guidelines for diplomatic relations. And he too will decide who or with whom to meet with directly, under what circumstance, and where political expediency dictates.
Derryck S. Griffith.
Educator-Advocate & Blogger.