Does State even HAVE a victory condition, here? – Not that they have one for Iran, either*.
Today’s event, of course, elevates the Washington Free Beacon. After all, this is not exactly a bad time to have a reputation for being personally hated by the Obama administration. In fact, I kind of wish for that status myself:
Officials with the Department of State threatened to call security Monday on a Washington Free Beacon reporter who was attempting to report on a briefing held by senior Obama administration figures in Vienna on the eve of an expected nuclear agreement with Iran.
Two State Department officials booted theFree Beacon from a room where Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, was talking to reporters, despite the Free Beacon’s being credentialed by the Austrian government for the ongoing Iranian nuclear talks.
…I don’t suppose that we can count on the Hard Left side of the ‘Sphere to do something dumb, like endorse this move by State. Aside from the precedent that it’d be forming – a precedent that will be used against them, starting in 2017 – it’s not really in their own class interests, if I may be indulged in putting in quasi-religious terms that might be more familiar to them. Sure, the temptation to screech like a banshee and throw things will be (as usual) strong for the Hard Left – but presumably they’ll figure out soon enough that such a thing would be counterproductive in this particular case. Presumably.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*Oops, did I type that out?
PS: I understand that Left and East Coast urban-academic liberal types don’t get out much, but they do understand that Europe is used to seeing journalists cheerfully causing trouble, yes? And that Europe has a generally low opinion of the second-string team running American foreign policy these days, right? And that State just made eyes roll in derision all over Vienna and Brussels, correct? …What’s that? The Left didn’t know all of that? Well, I suppose one must make allowances for provincials.
“Well, I suppose one must make allowances for provincials.”*
If your spokesperson – whatever – cannot handle impertinent questions from a reporter then yeah, you just signaled to everyone that you have nothing.
Based on my readings of history, I expect there will be (if not already in place) a lot of secret agreements between the European nations that will be acted upon if certain eventualities come to pass.
In the East, for example, Japan is building aircraft carriers in all but name.
*There is nothing so provincial as someone assured that he and his group have the best answer to everything – sort of like Bourbon prince.
Skills that don’t get regular use erode .. This is why we say someone out of practice is rusty.
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If the left were ever good at dealing with hostile reporters, they are badly rusty.
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Mew