Well, It’s Something, Anyway
I’ve become so accustomed to the UN doing nothing that anything at all feels like a victory:
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to restrict Iran’s trade in sensitive nuclear materials and to slap an asset freeze on 22 Iranian officials and institutions linked to Iran’s most controversial nuclear programs.
The council’s action marked the culmination of more than three years of diplomatic efforts by the United States to rally support for U.N. sanctions against Iran in the 15-nation council. But Russia, a close commercial partner of Iran, stripped the resolution of some of its toughest measures, including a travel ban on Iranian officials linked to the country’s most sensitive nuclear programs.
Still, Saturday’s agreement capped two-and-a-half months of grueling Security Council negotiations over the response to Iran’s refusal to heed the U.N. demand to halt its enrichment of uranium. It also set the stage for a new U.S. push to convince its European allies to follow up with their own national sanctions.
The resolution demands Iran immediately suspend its enrichment of uranium and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel within 60 days or face additional U.N. penalties. Iran has repeatedly defied U.N. demands during the past nine months to suspend those programs. The text also calls on Tehran to begin talks with the council’s major powers aimed at allaying international suspicions that it may be pursuing nuclear weapons.
The Bush administration, which favors tougher measures, said it was still pleased with the resolution, claiming that it furthers Iran’s growing international isolation. But some analysts and U.N. diplomats suggested today’s resolution was too weak to compel Iran to change its behavior.
Now there’s an understatement; still, the miracle is that we got the Russians to agree to anything. I must say, I find Russia to be increasingly irksome: Putin assassinates opponents, takes over private assets at will, and most importantly, makes a mockery of attempts to prevent nuclear proliferation among the world’s most unsavory regimes. They are not an ally in any reasonable sense…
It makes no difference. Cuba has been under “isolation” for almost 50 years now without the slightest hint of change. Sanctions DON’T work against Tyrants. Sanctions work against Democracies, which don’t need them to adjust behavior.
So Sanctions are useless in the real world. Turtle Bay, however, is not part of the real world. Ahmadamnutjob says he will have his nukes by March and we will just have to live with that. We will see. He might be right, since neither Bush nor Olmert has the cajones to do anything about it.
On a positive note, when Hezebollah starts setting off mukes, I will be safe in Alabama, while the New Yorkers who allowed them to get nukes will be at ground zero. I love the Irony.
If Hezzebollah goes for the whole hog, then they will use their nukes to break loose the Canaries Island fault. That will make the Entire East coast of America look like Katrina, only 10 times worse. FLy over America will be appalled. Appalled, I say.