Posted on 09/27/2009 1:08:22 PM PDT by Steelfish
Defense Secretary Robert Gates Says Severe Sanctions On Iran Could Work
Gates says additional sanctions may force an economically squeezed Iran to change its nuclear policy. He questions the value of military strikes.
By Paul Richter September 27, 2009
Reporting from Washington - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today the severe sanctions the West is threatening against Iran could force a change in the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions, especially since the country is already under severe economic distress.
Speaking as officials from six world powers prepare to meet with Iranian negotiators this week to discuss Tehran's nuclear program, Gates noted that the unemployment rate is 40% among Iran's young people, and asserted that past economic sanctions "are having an impact."
Severe additional sanctions "would have the potential to bringing them to change their policies," Gates said on ABC's "This Week."
In contrast, Gates played down, as he has in the past, the value of military strikes, saying at most they could only retard Iran's nuclear program by an estimated one to three years.
"The reality is, there is no military option that does anything other than buy time," he said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" program
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Can we please stop pussy-footing around, and hit the underground nuclear installations with Tactical Nukes?
That’s the only way to blast those bunkers. Bunker-busters won’t penetrate a MOUNTAIN.
Hot, bright, radioactive sanctions might work quite well!
Why, just LOOK at what twelve years of sanctions forced Iraq to do--nothing.
Gates is an ass. Cutting the F-22 and the missile defense program.
Do we not know that China, Venezuela or Russia will help Iran with its gasoline requirements.
Does Hussein think we are stupid.
Why, of course he does--we bought his line of crap.
One has to wonder if Israel is developing something undercover expressly for that type of situation. I believe they are so deep they are supposedly nukeproof.
The only sanction which will work against Iran is one nuke detonated in each of their nuclear facilities. I suspect it will be the Israelis who sanction Iran.
Because sanctions have worked so well in the past with nutjobs....
I believe that the government of Iran would accept the starvation of all of its people before it would shelve its goal of blowing Israel off the map.
Our government is filled with corrupt morons, and the bill is about to come due.
A new movie? The Achmedinejah Sanction?
We should have known that severe sanctions would work ...LONG AGO!
Even George Stephanopolis laughed that one off.
With all due respect to Gates, sanctions don’t have a particularly good track record in changing the behavior of hostile states.
What usually seems to happen is A) the average citizen in the targeted country suffers mightily while the powers that be scarcely get their hair mussed by the sanctions; B) One or more nations ignore the sanctions and/or the sanction process is riddled with corruption (which allows A to happen). Cuba, Iraq, North Korea, the list goes on and on.
So why pray tell, would sanctions be a stumbling stone to stopping the mullahs desires for a fierily end?
China, Venezuela, and others will not abide by the sanctions. Iran has oil, which will find a market.
The entrances could be temporarily sealed with conventional bombs. Then an enhanced radiation device (Neutron bomb) could poison the area around these sites.
This will force Iran's hand and they will move forward with sinking oil freighters in the straight of Hormuz.
Iran will not stop until they have a nuke and when they have that nuke, it will be more than one.
You can count on it.
To get the Russians and Chinese, especially the Chinese, to agree to very tough sanctions against the Iranians will extremely difficult. The Russians have opened the door to talking about additional sanctions, but with no promises whatsoever. They are making a fortune selling high technology and advanced weapons systems to Tehran, and they are not going to give up that cash cow until they absolutely have to. The Chinese have already said that if there is a worldwide ban on gasoline exports to Iran that they would supply Tehran themselves. Hardly words of encouragemtn for Bambi.
I'm so disappointed in Gates wimp-out on this as well as abandonment of the generals regarding Afghanistan
This is kinda like:
Q: How many men does it take to put a toilet seat down?
A: No one knows, it's never been done.
Only in this case:
Q: How well will severe sanctions work against Iran?
A: No one knows, they never been able to get Russia and China and other countries with a vested interest in Iran's well-being to go along with them.
Of course sanctions would work, but they would have to be universally applied. None of the BS like with the oil sanctions on Iraq that became another huge black eye for the UN when records uncovered after the US invasion showed how many nations and companies were ignoring them.
There is no such thing as solidarity when it comes to nations dealing with other nations. Each one acts in its own best interest, period. That goes double for socialist and communist governments.
Assuming entrances can be found. Might be some distance under the sand, fitted with equipment intended to drill or sleeve a fresh passage to the top of the sand.
But if the entrances are known, then plain old wet cement would do the trick.
...A brief history about the first Iraq war. Hussein, ‘we give up, I’m digging a hole.’ GHWB, “Not good enough!” Hussein, ‘We surrender!’ GHWB, “To little, too late! “Come on phucas, COME ON!”...
...A jump to the present. Pentagon, “Mr. CIC, we need more troops in the middle east.” POTUS, “Not good enough, too little, too late.”...
...With all due respect, MR. PRES, this is your war now. Go all out, or get out!!!
If America means anything at all to Bummer, he’d better hope for a GOP hawk to take his place soon.
The UN sanctions on Iraq really worked wonders. It was very profitable for a lot of politicians and UN staffers.
Suddam was able to spread his influence to the highest levels of foreign govts.
Similarly, this will just put Dinner Jacket in the catbird seat.
[. . .fitted with equipment intended to drill or sleeve a fresh passage to the top of the sand.]
No doubt they have thought of this. Neutron bombs would contaminate the surface to make such self-rescue hazardous.
I disagree (and I wonder if Gates is being "loyal" to Obama and knows better as well). After all the money Iranian leaders have poured into this program, if Israel does the right thing for the rest of the world and destroys the program, I imagine it'll do a whole lot more political damage than a severe reprimand from the UN, even if that reprimand carries sanctions that cost Iran an extra 5% on imports to smuggle whatever they want into the country. If Israel buys time for the regime to fall, I'd call that victory, whether the fall comes directly from the public reaction to the wasteful program that brought on the Israeli strike or it comes in the extra years of delay produced by Israel's strike.
Locating them will be the problem. It is impractical to neutron irradiate the entire land area of Iran.
A Jewish Uranium 235 salad would work much much better!
There is one conclusion:
Obama has lied to America before, HE WILL do it again.
Nuke them before they nuke us ought to be the mantra.
In defense of Gates, Iran is in a different position than Iraq was. There’s a significant and vocal opposition movement going on. The Iranians probably wouldn’t take it too well if their government forced them to starve because of sanctions while they continued to build the bomb.
Nice looking Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
Um, not sure about your “go tell that to Israel” headline edit. They have been saying the same thing today.
“JERUSALEM — Israel is lobbying Western powers to impose harsher sanctions on arch-foe Iran after Tehran disclosed the existence of a second uranium enrichment plant, Israeli news reports said on Sunday.” http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jxBR5De-7MAoB-kw08aTYDV7okBQ
So, is a large, smoking crater a sanction, or an effect?
However, 10,000 sorties...of which 2,500 are by B-1's and B-52's could ALSO do the the job:)
Want to save av-gas? 50 tactical nukes.
Not sure that would work.
Maybe cut off the snake’s head. Take out the government leaders/Ayatollahs?
I’m sure Gates knows better—just trying to protect his boss. Its nice to think that people like Defense secretaries are something more than rank politicians—but that’s usually not the case.
I’d like to see what happens when 3 are dropped in the same spot, one after the other after the other!
said today the severe sanctions the West is threatening against Iran could force a change in the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitionsEven one of George S' partisan media shills in the roundtable segment said without Russia and China there will be no sanctions.
> The only sanction which will work against Iran is one nuke detonated in each of their nuclear facilities. I suspect it will be the Israelis who sanction Iran.
I doubt that Israel would use one of her nukes to do this. Everyone assumes Israel has nukes, nobody can prove it, and the Israelis probably like it that way. I don’t think Israel would use a nuke unless it was a last resort. The Iranian nuke sites will glow enough from their own radiation if a few well placed large bombs are used properly.
I think that’s a strategic decision by Israel knowing fully well that China and Russia would not go for “extreme” sanctions. This will give Israel cover to go for the bunker busters.
“The revised NIE shows that non-military measures are the best way to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The new national estimate validates the Administration’s strategy of bringing diplomatic and economic pressures to bear on the Iranian government to change its policies.”
Sec of Defense Gates – Kabal, Afghanstan Time (Dec 5, 2007)
These fools will never eat crow. Instead they will continue down the same path of appeasement oblivious to history and the rogue state’s record.
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LOL!
“Live long and prespire” - Spock
We should bomb Iran’s oil refineries and bring them to their knees.
Attacking the nuclear installations is only a piece of the equation.
Expire too. Guess Spock didn’t emit?
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Recall Spock’s “V” hand sign - And him saying: “Live long and prosper!”
“prosper”
Lol, I have that image. I don’t recall any of his ‘sayings’. You remember all of that.
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