I don’t envy Barrack Obama his job, when it comes to dealing with the Iran crisis. On one side there are isolationists who say the issue is none of our business. On the other, he is confronted with bloodthirsty Israelis externally, and Republican warmongers internally, all of whom want war. Except for one thing, I think he is handling it well.

The White House announced tightened sanctions against Iran on Monday because of its suspect nuclear program, freezing all property of the Central Bank of Iran, other Iranian financial institutions and the Iranian government in this country. The tightening also raised the warning to financial institutions in other nations that they could face big penalties in the United States if they do business with the Iran’s central bank. The actions, which are allowed under a new sanctions measure that became law this year, were ordered by President Obama in an executive order he signed on Sunday, the White House said. Mr. Obama’s action came against the backdrop of rising tensions between Iran and the West over its nuclear energy program, which Iran says is peaceful and Iran’s critics say is a cover for efforts to build the capacity to make a nuclear weapon. Last week an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team left Iran after the Iranian government refused to allow it to scrutinize elements of the Iranian nuclear program that an the agency has cited as a cause for concern because of its military nature. Although the team is returning to Iran later this month, Western diplomats have concluded Iran appears intent on stonewalling. In a statement, the White House said the executive order “reemphasizes this administration’s message to the government of Iran — it will face ever-increasing economic and diplomatic pressure until it addresses the international community’s well-founded and well-documented concerns regarding the nature of its nuclear program.”… [emphasis added]

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Here’s how I see it. There are already too many nations in the world armed with nuclear weapons. The more there are, the greater the likelihood they will be used. I have absolutely no objections to Iran developing a nuclear energy program for peaceful use, but only as long as they comply with IAEA guidelines and permit IAEA inspections. Their refusal to do so justifies the sanctions, in my view. The policy has the added benefit of helping forestall the rabid dogs of war.