sanctions Archives - Page 9 of 19 - Foreign Policy In Focus

How the Farm Lobby Distorts U.S. Foreign Policy

by Marc-William Palen | Jan 7, 2011

Thanks to the hard work of the U.S. Farm Lobby, America’s love of cheap food has stretched more than an engorged waistline. It now stretches the limits of American foreign policy.Over the past century, the Farm Lobby’s influence on the U.S. government has increased alongside the consolidation and growth of U.S. agribusinesses, the principle recipients of federal farm subsidies. Now it appears the Farm Lobby’s efforts are hamstringing American national security, as well.

Iran’s Adventures in Latin America

by Richard Javad Heydarian | Nov 18, 2010

As the United States continues to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, the Islamic regime is engaging in a foreign policy counter-attack with profound strategic consequences. The theater of strategic warfare between the United States and Iran has expanded well beyond the Middle East.From sub-Saharan Africa to Latin America, Iran is selling arms, offering aid and investments, and otherwise establishing a new pattern in south-to-south relations as it battles what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls “Western arrogance.”

‘Smart Sanctions’ on Iran are Dumb

by Joy Gordon | Sep 9, 2010

In the face of the rising hysteria regarding Iran’s development of its nuclear power facilities, there is talk of preemptive military strikes against Iran. Meanwhile, sanctions on Iran — by both the UN Security Council and the United States — have become increasingly harsh. And to the extent they are successful, these sanctions will harm the wrong people and have little impact on the political leadership.

It’s “Groundhog Day” All Over Again in Pyongyang

by John Feffer | Sep 9, 2010

Even sending Bill Murray to negotiate with North Korea is preferable to Obama’s Bush-like hard line, complete with sanctions.

60-Second Expert: U.S.-Iran Relations

by Richard Javad Heydarian | Jun 28, 2010

Iran’s nuclear program has become the focal point of international discussions about the region’s future, and the United States and its allies have made the resolution of the nuclear standoff a precondition for future discussions of Iran’s broader interests. Therefore, despite President Obama’s emphasis on diplomacy, U.S. relations with Iran remain strained. It would be in the best interest of both countries to put aside their history of conflict and often baseless mutual suspicion in favor of a more forward-looking approach.

It’s Time to Step up Diplomacy with Iran

by Mary Slosson | Jun 25, 2010

Things are heating up for Iran. The international community, responding to doubts over the intentions of the Iranian nuclear program, has passed three sanctions packages over the past three weeks.

Iran, Brazil, Turkey and the Ghost of Lord Palmerston

by Conn Hallinan | May 26, 2010

The U.S. State Department’s claim that the “international community” is behind the U.S. is increasingly sounding like whistling past the graveyard.

Zimbabwe: Sanctions and Solidarity

by Briggs Bomba, William Minter | Apr 21, 2010

Zimbabwe is currently the subject of sanctions designed to pressure Robert Mugabe and his colleagues to cease human rights abuses and remove other barriers to democratization in the country. Yet despite some recent positive developments — such as the appointment of independent commissions on human rights, elections, and the media — the future of democracy in Zimbabwe remains highly uncertain.

What Lee Can Learn From Bush?

by John Feffer | Apr 15, 2008

On the occasion of their first summit, George W. Bush should have a private, one-on-one, conservative-to-conservative chat with Lee Myung-bak. In this chat, the U.S. President should tell the cautionary tale of how his administration did everything it could to repudiate the North Korea policy of its predecessor ― only to end up in the very same position.

Myanmar, Minorities, and the Military

by John Feffer, David I. Steinberg | Oct 10, 2007

The Burmese tragedy that has unfolded over the past weeks has captured the attention of the international community as no other event in contemporary Burmese history. The availability through the Internet and then through the BBC and CNN of the images of the demonstrators, especially the monks, and the beatings by the government forces (in and out of uniform) have inflamed world opinion. And these images, due to the proliferation of satellite TV dishes throughout Yangon and other urban areas, have brought the tragedy to the attention of the Burmese people. Because the government treats information as power and thus is very secretive and operates in a self-imposed penumbra, information normally spreads by rumor in that country. Although there were rumors aplenty in these past weeks, there was verifiable evidence of the brutality of the suppression of the demonstrations.