Now that the Iranian economy is reeling and real people are feeling the pain from strangling sanctions imposed by the west, the perpetrators are beginning to blame the victims. As the currency loses 40% of its value and poor people, large families and the elderly find themselves unable to afford basic provisions, Hillary Clinton has informed the world that sanctions she championed aren’t causing them to go hungry. Rather the Iranian regime’s mismanagement of the economy is causing the pain:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made it clear that the United States had no intention of relaxing the sanctions — particularly now, just as they show the first sign of forcing Iran’s leaders to rethink the costs of their nuclear program.
“We have always said that we had a dual-track approach to this, and one track was trying to put pressure on the Iranian government to come to the negotiating table,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters. But she said it was Iran’s own mismanagement of its economy, more than the sanctions, that deserved “responsibility for what is going on inside Iran.”
“And that is who should be held accountable,” Mrs. Clinton said. “And I think that they have made their own government decisions, having nothing to do with the sanctions that have had an impact on the economic conditions inside the country.”
This is a perfect example of a government official covering her tush by anticipating the storm of protest that will ensue once the poor and vulnerable start dying on the street and crying babies no longer can be fed by their mothers. That’s when the internal contradictions of the sanctions regime will begin to be seen more clearly. That is, that the strangulation of Iran will not hurt anyone in the leadership. It will not hurt the military. It will not end the nuclear program. It isn’t even “forcing Iran’s leaders to rethink the costs of their nuclear program” as David Sanger claims (typically without offering any proof).
It will hurt civilians. It will hurt the great mass of Iranians outside of those we claim to be targeting. This is an experiment in collective punishment. The experiment involves putting the screws to an entire nation in hopes that the masses will rise up and throw out the real targets of our wrath. This hope is false and unfounded. The only way to topple the current regime is to allow events to take their course and leave that in the hands of Iranians themselves.
Further, the goal of Clinton and Obama is regime change, not just an end to Iran’s nuclear program as they claim. This is a goal they will not attain, at least not by these means.
Collective punishment, starvation of a mass population is a violation of the Geneva Convention. Our policy is a violation of international law. The blood of the dead will be on our heads. We will not let Clinton or Obama off the hook easily. She will not blame the victim for his suffering. We will tell the world that the U.S. is the perpetrator and responsibility for this empty suffering lies on our doorstep.
Don’t forget Europe. It’s not just the U.S. Clinton/Obama who are involved in these sanctions. Much of Europe has a major role here as well. To wit:
EU poised to agree ban on Iranian gas imports
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/us-eu-iran-sanctions-gas-idUSBRE89313F20121004
Europe Weighs More Sanctions as Iran’s Currency Plummets
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-03/europe-weighs-more-sanctions-as-iran-s-currency-plummets
Bob, the US spearheaded the sanctions and used economic blackmail/diplomacy to involve the EU. Any country whom it does not exempt from dealing with Iran faces its own punishment should that county engage in trade or banking with the Iranians. I would think this would be obvious.
It IS obvious. We are not children, we know who calls the shots and how they do it. Sanctions are, as I like to say, war by other means. It is intended to devastate the country and it will.
If it can possibly be avoided, the CIA prefers to not leave the important matter of regime change to the inhabitants.
I think that redoubled, vicious sanctions is a holding pattern for Obama until the election, after which I have no idea what will happen.
Sad that Europe is so weak-willed and easily bullied.
It is a shame. Agreed. Don’t expect it to last forever, however.
This, too, will have repercussions.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/surreal-clinton-pledges-45-million-in-aid-to-al-qaeda-in-syria/
The UN is doing exactly what it was designed to do — responding to a treaty violation without going to war. Iran is violating the NPT. You can excuse it all you want, but Iran is violating the NPT. Stop the violations, allow the inspections triggered by the violations, and the sanctions end. And let’s not talk about the suffering in Syria, massively extended thanks to Iranian interference. Or is that inconvenient truth off-point?
This is about the 40th time you’ve said the same thing. One of my comment rules is not to repeat yourself, especially not repeat yourself serially. I’ve let this one go. But no more.
Outrageously false, you lying POS. The US & EU are in the violation of the NPT by denying Iran its right to a nuclear energy program granted by the NPT.
While I have no problem with you disagreeing with him, I have a big problem with the insults & foul language. Stay civil.
YOU stay civil and quit pushing immoral, illegal, trillion-costing, all-sides-devastating wars with your shameful lies.
I don’t owe you civility, only contempt.
Got this one wrong… “HE stays… his shameful lies … I don’t owe him…”
Even though I generally probably agree with your views, rather than his, you owe him civility because it’s my blog, not yours. If you disagree with him you say so, even strongly. But terms like POS are not acceptable. There is enough acrimony in the comment threads here without blessing such incendiary language.
That kind of “person” is enabling the killing of millions of people and making a living hell for billions of others… And you’re saying I have to remain polite with it?
Sorry but no, sir. The very least one must do to that kind of “person” is calling it names.
You seem to be offended by a quite innocuous word which hasn’t ever hurt anybody… I’m offended by the past and pending massacres, and rightly so. How about getting real?
As Richard points out, you have been peddling your “Iran is violating the NPT” assertion for some time now; however, I can’t recall you ever offering any links to support your position. If you have such links, please provide them so we can judge for ourselves whether the sources they point to are legitimate or not; if you are unwilling or unable to provide such links, then you shouldn’t expect anyone to give you the benefit of the doubt or to take you seriously.
As a parting shot, let me add that if you really cared about ordinary Iranians and Syrians, then you would call for sanctions on Iran and Syria to be lifted and for all the world to trade with these countries. But you don’t.
It is sad the Iranian people are made to suffer, as has been amply expressed. Left much unsaid so far in this blog, though, is that the Iranian political/religious leadership are the ones who make policy for their country: that including a policy not to reveal the nature of their nuclear program in ways that are unambiguously confirmable. They chose that path: thus it is the Iranian leadership that is to blame for a situation that could be almost immediately reversed should the leaders chose to do so.
Actually, a recent post does sort of address this. There is a report linked to on an article on the front page by Khos Semnani who suggests exactly what you are saying.
“…including a policy not to reveal the nature of their nuclear program in ways that are unambiguously confirmable. ”
Is this the double standard again, the standard used by pro-Israel folks to separate the kernel of “anti-semtiism” from the chaff of criticism? What about Israel’s nuclear program? This one conforms to no treaty or international standards and is not even acknowledged? Iran has been more forthcoming about its programs than Israel, where the policy is “not to reveal the nature of their nuclear program” period.
Of course leaders are responsible. When reprisal missiles fall on Tel Aviv, it will be the Israeli leadership that is to blame for a situation that they contrived in the first place.
It is tragic that Iranians are suffering from these attacks. Clinton claims that the economic damage is due to the Iranians mismanagement of the economy and not the sanctions, yet suggests the sanctions are working! One can’t help but wonder what “work” they are doing if not this?
I do so love it when commenters like you make things up as they go along. No one has ever said that the Iranians have to unambiguously confirm they’re not producing nukes. But even if they did, the NIE & virtually every other credible measure indicates there is no proof Iran is pursuing nukes. Whenever any source claims otherwise, they never provide proof or they temper their claims with language that is so ambiguous as to mean nothing.
Further there are several other countries who already have such weapons who are at least as dangerous if not moreso than Iran (including Israel). So comments like yours reveal the utmost hypocrisy. If the U.S. and Israel had screamed as loud when N Korea or Pakistan got nukes they’d be a lot more credible.
So: you come up with a new we to prove a negative? Share it.
bezoar — Please address my comments on the double standard in play in your comments.
From the article:
Hillary Clinton has informed the world that sanctions she championed aren’t causing them to go hungry. Rather the Iranian regime’s mismanagement of the economy is causing the pain:
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SooOOOOoooo…. Does that mean it’s the citizens’ fault for our OWN economic collapse? Or is it the (supposed) representatives of our country that are corrupt…and not taking any credit for it other than war and bailouts and shipment of jobs overseas…and Monsanto getting the go-ahead to kill the WORLD population?
Someone needs to organize a Citizens Arrest on Hillary and the rest of these liars. Not that it’s gonna change much though…without infiltration (by various means) of the other sectors that need attention/culling…all over the world.
~Blessed Be to all~
Btw..even if Iran came-up with one or two nukes, what could they do with them?
Nothing. Thats what. Not when every other country(that are now in their territory, instigating BS) has upwards of 1000 or more nukes, and various other means to destroy one or two nukes that get set-off.
In all fairness..the US govt is the single, number one threat of nuclear war of the world, bar none!
Non-violent protests HAVE NOT, and WILL not change that. They’d rather keep piling on the lies, follow the direction of the money, and cull all non-violent resistance and voices instead. Oh yeah…and kill every one else on the planet while doing so.
The US Govt, with very high influence from warmongers and banker whores such as Hillary, are COMPLETELY to blame for ALL economic problems around the world. The US dollar was the currency for the world, and the US Govt is to blame for any misappropriation/management of economics, period. All by order of corporate big business, and the banking CARTEL.
It needs to stop..and once stopped, the citizens of this country need to realize that it’s gonna take DECADES to get anything resembling good change to occur in this country…as well as most of the rest of the world.
If me and my children have to live under a one world govt, I’d rather die fighting them…and WILL. I wish it could be done non-violently, and will be done non-violently by me if the circumstances allow it…but I will use an exacto knife and cut someone to pieces a 1/4 inch at a time if I have to..which I hope I don’t. For me and my family..especially my children, I most certainly WILL do so.
But I can’t do anything by myself..so I suppose I’ll die right here, in front of my children, fighting for their future.
All because that’s how people like Hillary, and those she serves, have set it up to be. I sure as hell didn’t ask for it…did you?
All because that is the only thing worth fighting for any more.
“Who’s gonna fight harder, those who think they have everything, or those that know they have nothing?”
~Blessed Be to all~
I am an atheist. I believe Moses was a lunatic at best, Jesus was a mythical character, and Mohammed was definitely an uneducated pedophile. At the same time, I would defend anyone’s right, specifically Christians, Jews, and Muslims, to practice their beliefs peacefully, so long as they keep it out of publicly funded institution and government. Why do I say this? Well, they asked Gandhi what he thought of Western civilization, and he said it would be a good idea! I think it’s impossible! My strong belief in logic prevents me from praying to any god. But, I do hope that an alien civilization would one day arrive and either hit the reset button on this planet of sick monkeys. Or, better yet, hold the Western ‘civilization’ accountable for the terrorism that they have unleashed upon the world in the past 500 years. One has to be willfully ignorant to not see the hypocrisy that flows on an hourly basis from US/Europe. Shame on all of you, and if you believe in any god, may you be damned by that same god.