Thursday, February 11, 2010

Does Obama have what it takes to take on a belligerent Iran?



Obama's Bid to Defuse Nuke Standoff -David E. Sanger

As President Obama adds economic pressure and military containment to force Iran's leadership to negotiate on its nuclear program, he is betting that he can win global agreement on a set of sanctions that are strong enough to convince Iran that its nuclear ambitions are not worth the price.

But "isolating" a country diplomatically does not necessarily translate into changing its behavior. North Korea, Cuba and Myanmar have been economically isolated for decades, with little effect.
(New York Times)


Iran Claims New Success in Uranium Enrichment
-Alan Cowell & Michael Slackman

President Ahmadinejad was quoted Thursday as saying his country had produced a first batch of uranium enriched to a level of 20%, taunting the West.

Iran, he said, was now "a nuclear state."
(New York Times)


UPDATE:

Tehran Has Little Reason to Fear Sanctions - Ulrike Putz

President Ahmadinejad allowed every ultimatum to expire, and each time he came away without so much as a scratch.

The Iranians' tactics are always the same. First, they give the impression they are going to make concessions. But then they just continue as before.

Without a military option, which the West has repeatedly ruled out, Iran feels safe. And the Islamic Republic is likewise not at all concerned about economic sanctions - a sentiment, say Iran observers, that is not only justified, but backed by decades of experience.

Officials in Washington are all too familiar with the fact that the Iranians have become masterful at navigating their way around trade restrictions. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently conceded that the U.S. economic embargo against Iran was "leaky."
(Der Spiegel-Germany)

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