Israel Matzav

Even the LA Times figures it out: Sanctions not originating at the White House

Even the LA Times has figured it out. It's not the Obama administration that's taking the lead on sanctioning Iran. In fact, they're doing all they can do to keep up (once they recognize that they cannot win). It's Congress and the Europeans who are taking the lead on sanctioning Iran.

Mark Dubowitz, an energy expert who has been advising Congress on sanctions, said the Obama administration has tried to add sanctions "in a measured way to assure international support and to avoid anything that would spook oil and financial markets."

But as concern over Iran's nuclear progress has intensified, members of Congress, with support from the French and British governments, "have really taken the lead in being aggressive," said Dubowitz, who is executive director of a pro-sanctions group called Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The latest sanctions clearly are having an effect. In recent weeks, the value of the Iranian currency has plummeted and prices for food and other consumer goods have soared, causing hardship for ordinary Iranians and putting political pressure on the regime.

A major crisis with Iran carries political risks for the White House. A war or other disruptive event that causes a sharp rise in oil prices could endanger the United States' fragile economic recovery and probably President Obama's chances for reelection.

As a result, the White House has had to scramble to keep up with the pace set by Congress and the Europeans. While critics have long accused Obama of "leading from behind" by empowering other countries to carry out America's bidding on world crises, the administration is now trying to avoid the appearance of "following from behind."

And why isn't the Obama administration taking the lead on Iran? Well, because they could care less about Israel (the Europeans could also care less about Israel, but they're at least smart enough to realize that Iran also poses a direct threat to them) and because Obama has one main concern to which all else is subservient.

The administration has imposed dozens of sanctions on Iran since 2009, but it has carefully calibrated their effect. Officials fear that too powerful a blow to the world's third-largest oil exporter could cause an oil price increase, damaging the global economic recovery, undermining international support for the sanctions campaign and creating political trouble in an election year.

A nuclear war would do wonders to getting him reelected, wouldn't it? /Sarc.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:28 AM