U.S. and Europe leery of heavy Iran sanctions

[ECH1969]

As Western governments debate how to penalize Iran for its nuclear activities, the Bush administration and European officials said they wanted to avoid causing hardship or more anti-Western resentment among the Iranian public.

The officials said that, although sanctions would not be lifted anytime soon, they had ruled out any early steps toward an oil embargo or other sorts of sweeping economic punishments that would not only be opposed in Europe but would also cause suffering in Iran.

Iran's leverage over the West because of its oil exports and trade agreements are a fact of life that U.S. and European officials said made sanctions in that area impractical. But these officials also argue the importance of not alienating Iranians who might support the West, causing them to rally around their leaders.

"A heavy-handed sanctions approach is going to hurt an awful lot of Iranians that we don't want to alienate," a U.S. State Department official who is working on the issue said Thursday. "We're going to have to be more surgical." President George W. Bush and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany discussed the need for "smart sanctions" in a meeting last week, according to a German diplomatic official, with Merkel in particular pushing for care in not angering the Iranian public.

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/01/20/news/iran.php

[tatertop]

1. I believe bi-lateral sanctions will hurt us more than we can hurt them

The people of Iran are used to hardship.
They are stocked up in anticipation of this event.
Six months of disrupting the world oil markets
at this time could bring us to our knees.
Americans are soft and lazy and absolutely hate
any kind of sacrafice. They will beat us.
They have a plan. Our only plan is INVADE.

[enigma000]

2. better start learning Farsi

Best to learn the language of our new overlords. <sigh>

[Zynx]

3. Iran produces more oil than there is global excess capacity

That's a massive amount of leverage.

[dysfunctional press]

4. with oil-thirsty neighbors like China and India-

tell me again why Iran needs Europe or the U.S. as customers...?

[Kagemusha]

5. Because the US Navy says so.

If the US Navy wants to deny China etc. that oil, China is denied that oil. Plain and simple.

To avoid such a circumstance, Iran makes sure to sell according to accepted international norms.

[dysfunctional press]

12. "accepted international norms"

wouldn't that ultimately be selling to the highest bidder?

and if the oil eventually goes through pipelines instead of supertankers-
what's the u.s. navy have to say about it?

irregardless- the u.s.navy stopping a chinese supertanker full of iranian crude headed to shanghai or thereabouts- now that's something i'd like to see...it sure would make for "interesting times".

[LynnTheDem]

14. Heh wouldn't it be "interesting"...

There's a reason that's an ancient curse.

[dysfunctional press]

15. "..may you live in interesting times."

pnac, peak oil, global warming...

interesting times ahead.

[Kagemusha]

17. Actually, yes - that IS to the highest bidder

In other words, Iran makes sure not to refuse a better bid price to sell to enemies or rivals of the United States.

And thus the peace is kept on the high seas.

[lumpy]

6. We're going to have to be more

"surgical" sayeth the soothsayer-surgeon Dr. Bush. Like he cares a hoot about the Iranian public.

[gizmo1979]

7. There's no way the world

can survive without that oil.We need them more than they need us.

[channa18]

19. IF YOURE RIGHT.....

THAT is one saaaaaad commentary.

[gizmo1979]

22. yes it is very sad.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. I can believe

European countries don't want to duly harm Iranian (because of the bourse), but what is the reason for the current State dept? Do they finally realize that we can't stretch ourselves any further? Or are they just leaving an open door for the newer, more "usable", smaller nukes?

[MrPrax]

9. They learned something...

EU and the US simply looked at the Iraqi sanctions and how local regional players got rich avoiding them or ignoring them--the one's left out were western companies, who had to sulk around, bribing politicians to make sure they wouldn't get charged with violations.

It is funny that western punditry seems to think that the real battle is the various positions between Germany or Russia or China, when in fact, it will be the reaction of that 'region' that will ultimately decide--sanctions are worthless if the regional players, say, 'fuck you'--who the hell is the SC anyway. Only Bolton seems to take it's moral authority seriously.

The US only imposes sanctions where they have leverage--that's why they will just attack them.

[channa18]

20. And its worse than that...

there will be times in the future the US will have to use military force....and no no one will believe us.

[MrPrax]

21. Oh...

that your biggest concern...that when you bomb a village, create torture gulags or invade a country, no one will believe your stated motives. Which was what again?

It's probably better NOT to use military force if NO ONE believes you

...but then again, why worry about what stupid 4NRs think anyway, right?

Let's face it, it's a planet of 6 billion and the US is a country of 300 million...unless your going to nuke the planet, your going to lose, in the long term. Truth is kinda irrelevent at that point--it simply becomes naked imperial aggression.

[Poll_Blind]

10. Cue Tonkin! n/t

PB

[The Roux Comes First]

11. One person's "surgical" is another person's "nuanced" -

So for there to be any chance of this working it's time to declare it brush-clearing season again.

[LynnTheDem]

13. "Penalize"...for WHAT? Name ONE LAW, ONE SANCTION Iran has broken.

Answer: NONE.

[mom cat]

16. Iran has the US and the EU over a barrel

a lot of barrels of oil. No one else could fill the gap if Iran diverted its supplies to other eager, willing buyers.

[channa18]

18. ISRAEL took out Iraq's nuclear program.....

and look what that lead to.

[oblivious]

24. Yes, they took out a peaceful program and caused Iraq to pursue nukes.

When the hard men take over, reason goes out the window.

[VegasWolf]

23. Friday's stock market was a small taste of the economic damage that

will occur if sanctions are imposed on Iraq. The market recieved the Iranian news of potential and deadly US dollar devaluation with one emotion, abject fear.