Backing Away From “Crippling Sanctions” Round 2

Ricky Trotman / June 16, 2010

Following the passage of the latest round of mild sanctions on Iran, the Obama administration is now seeking to weaken the sanctions passing through Congress.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Rep Howard Berman (D-CA) last Friday seeking to increase the administration’s “flexibility” by granting waivers to EU nations.  While the US must work with the EU to ensure that it passes its own set of sanctions on Iran, Washington can no longer afford to make exemptions or “cut outs” on an issue of such importance.

Seeking these waivers is another clear sign of this administration’s unwillingness to take the hard-line approach that is necessary toward Iran.  In order to gain Russian approval of the United Nations sanctions, the pending sale of Russian S-300 surface to air missiles to Iran were exempted from the sanctions. (more…)