House Votes To Expand Sanctions On Iran

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(12-15) 15:26 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

The House voted Tuesday to impose new economic sanctions on Iran as lawmakers cast doubt on Iran's willingness to respond to diplomatic efforts to curtail its purported nuclear arms program.

The legislation, approved 412-12, would end access to U.S. markets for foreign companies selling refined petroleum products to Iran or helping that country develop its petroleum capacity. While Iran is a major crude oil producer, its lack of ability to produce enough gasoline and other refined petroleum products is a major economic vulnerability.

With no Senate action on the legislation expected this year, the House vote was for the time being mainly a warning that the United States is ready to act on its own if the Tehran government doesn't respond to current international efforts to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

The bill drew opposition from lawmakers who said it would mainly cause hardship among poor and middle-class Iranians.

Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, said the Barack Obama administration was "entering a critical period of intense diplomacy to impose significant international pressure on Iran." Sanctions legislation "might weaken rather than strengthen international unity and support for our efforts," Steinberg's letter said.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/15/national/w144210S66.DTL

[Owl]

1. Whoop-dee-doo. It's hard to give a shit anymore.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Well it would be a bit embarrasing

if Saudi decided to supply. Would mean no more Saudi oil for the USA. :sarcasm:

[AverageJoe5]

3. Irrational hostility toward Iran - a waste of time and effort

Is this the 17th set of U.S. sanctions to be imposed on Iran, or is the count higher than that? They've been imposing sanctions on Iran since 1979; in spite (or, perhaps, because) of that, Iran has made steady technological and economic progress. Ahmadinejad may have been correct when he said, "Thank God our enemies are idiots."

In the news story it's stated that, "....the House vote was for the time being mainly a warning that the United States is ready to act on its own if the Tehran government doesn't respond to current international efforts to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power." What's wrong with Iran becoming a nuclear power? If it's OK for the U.S. to be a nuclear power, why not Iran, especially since Iran has never misused nuclear weapons but the U.S. has (Hiroshima and Nagasaki)?

[twitomy]

4. I agree...

Time to send some bunker busters to Isreal.

"Smoking gun" documents found:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.nuclear/

[AverageJoe5]

5. After the Iraq WMDs fraud, you still believe in "smoking guns"?

(1) Is the source of this "smoking gun" on Iran the same source that gave us the fraudulent "smoking guns" on the non-existent Iraq WMDs that led us to the Iraq war?

(2) On the subject of "sending bunker busters to Israel ....": If Israel were to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, how do you think Iran would respond? Would Iran: (a) Wave the white flag, surrender, and abandon its nuclear program? Or, (b) Would Iran launch missiles to strike at targets in Israel, including Tel Aviv and Israel's nuclear reactors?

[twitomy]

6. Well since Bush and company are not involved

I would be more willing to believe them. The IAEA is reviewing them. Lets see what they have to say.

As for #2. A or B is Preferable than the alternative.

[harun]

7. If they can get everyone whipped up about Iran they will stop being

so whipped up about their own countries bullsh*t corruption.

[The abyss]

8. Laugh out loud!

Russia and the Chinese hold up the back of the Iranian people and their government.

The current reactor project that the west keeps twisting their panties short is a co-project with the Russians.

The Chinese are heavily invested in both land and offshore gas development projects in Iran.

Sanctions – ROFLOL.

Yes, Virginia, the Russians really can make Omaha disappear in 20 minutes or less.

Yes, Virginia, the Chinese do hold the majority of the future US debt.

One of these days, very soon, the rest of world will simply stop coming to the T-bill auctions. About one or perhaps two weeks later, we the people will go down just like the old Soviet Republic.