U.S. Senators Seeking Tougher Economic Sanctions on Iran

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

A group of U.S. lawmakers is proposing to intensify the economic pressure on Iran over its disputed nuclear program by drafting the harshest penalties to date on a nation whose income from oil exports has been cut in half by sanctions since 2011.

A draft Senate bill, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News from a congressional office, would penalize foreign countries that do business with any Iranian entity controlled by the government. It also would bar Iran from using earnings from oil exports to purchase anything other than food and medicine.

The draft measure, which is expected to be finalized and introduced this month, also would require the Islamic Republic to release political prisoners, respect the rights of women and minorities and move toward “a free and democratically elected government” before Iranian government-controlled entities could be removed from the U.S. sanctions list.

“Congress is running out of patience,” Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, who’s advised lawmakers and the administration on Iran sanctions, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “New measures under consideration will massively intensify the economic pressure on Iran and move the sanctions regime closer to a de facto commercial and financial embargo on Iran.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-09/u-s-senators-seeking-tougher-economic-sanctions-on-iran.html

[Purveyor]

1. Senators involved in drafting or consulting on the legislation include...

Republicans Mark Kirk of Illinois, Susan Collins of Maine and John Cornyn of Texas; and Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bob Menendez of New Jersey. The Senate Banking and Foreign Relations committees also have been consulted, according to Senate aides.

[leveymg]

2. Looks like the AIPAC crowd wants to repeat the Iraq War (times 100).

I guess the United States hasn't yet paid a high enough cost to keep them happy. Hell no, not again.

[John2]

3. Do you people actually think those Senators,

are concerned about minority and Human rights when you look at their individual voting records in the Congress? With the exception of Mendez. who is probably beholden to the Jewish lobby, the rest are rightwing extremists of the Republican Party. A number of them are beholden to the gun lobby also. They have no moral grounds to stand on when it comes to talking about human rights. In fact, most of the Congress are a bunch of hypocrites when they talk about these matters. Many of them criticize the U.N. and yet, I give you exhibit A. They pressure other Nations in the U.N. to follow their demands. That is why I consider the U.N. a crippled organization that certain actors like the rightwing extremists in our Congress use as a political tool to carry out their rightwing agendas. It is why our foreign policy is bias, racist and intolerant. Congress is full of these characters. I would argue cruz is another example of this and have no business in Congress making decisions for this country. And don't let me start with that clown Rubio and his claims about freedom. As an African American whose ancestors were slaves, somebody need to hold me back when it comes to Rubio. As far as I'm concerned, he is who he walks with and we all know who his friends are in the Republican Party.

[brett_jv]

5. My guess is that this is all about weakening them militarily ...

So they'll be easier to crush when the time comes (i.e. when Israel tells the next Rethug president that 'it's time') to start dropping the freedom bombs and teachin' 'em some democracy (and privatization skills).

When that time comes, it's gonna be hilarious watching the same right-wing f**kt**ds who fell for the con with the Iraq War ... fall for it all over again. They'll happily pick up their 'Get a Brain, Morans Go USA' signs for one more go-round of imperialist slaughter, based on the same trumped-up bullshit claims of 'ZOMG teh Mushroom Clouds!!!'

Of course, there's also their general hatred of people like us who, you know, think that killing people halfway around the world based on a bunch of lies ... sucks ... that always makes it easy for Rush and Faux and the Weekly Standard to manipulate them into cheering for war ... they tell 'em that their mortal enemy, i.e. the liberals, DON'T want us to go to war ... ergo, going to war must actually be a GREAT idea.

Yeah, that'll be fun. Spending months getting into arguments with people on the interwebs boards ... trying to get through to all these idiot RW'ers I know the idea that they're being CONNED and played for suckers AGAIN ... only to watch them all start arguing that Saddam REALLY kicked out the UN inspectors, and how he REALLY had the Mobile Weapons vans, and how he REALLY sent all teh WMD's over to Syria, and how the war in Iraq was REALLY NECESSARY, and a HUGE SUCCESS for George W. Bush.

I swear to Dog, I cannot TAKE going through the stupidity of 2002-2003 all over again.

PLEASE Lord, don't let Jebbie get elected in 2016. Please, please, please.

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. These guys can fuck off. And Manchin, what a useless "Democrat"