Iran Snap Analysis: Washington's Rights-First Approach to Sanctions?

More than a year after EA correspondents and readers debated a rights-first, rather than a nuclear-first approach, to sanctions, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner have put out that line:

The Obama administration is adding eight Iranian officials to a financial blacklist for what the administration says were their roles in rights violations following the disputed June 2009 presidential election.

The Treasury and State departments jointly announced on Wednesday that the sanctions order had been signed by President Barack Obama.

The order blocks any assets in the U.S. held by the eight Iranians and prohibits Americans from doing business with them

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Following Up EA's Stories: Strikes on Pakistan, Flotilla Raid, US Military v. Obama, Israel's Settlements, Twitter and Activism

Putting this week's stories on EA WorldView into context....

The Strikes on Pakistan: On Tuesday, we considered, "Stepping Up the Drone Killings (And How to Accept Them)".

The political tensions continue to increase. Dr Zalmai Rassoul, the Afghan foreign minister, has issued a pointed warning: "On many occasions from this podium, the Afghan delegation has drawn the attention of the global community to the reality that terrorism and the ideologies of extremism and radicalism are spawned beyond the borders of Afghanistan." 

Rassoul said that, as long as" certain state and non-state actors" provide Al Qaeda and its affiliated individuals and entities with sanctuary, arms and financing, they would remain formidable and murderous adversaries.

Yesterday Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said to members of his party that "international forces were whipping up a storm against the government" and pledged not to bow to the pressure.

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The Latest from Iran (29 September): Decline and Punishment

1800 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The US Government has asked Japan to completely withdraw from the Azadegan oil development field in southwest Iran, according to Yomiuri Shinbun. 

Japanese officials as saying that Washington wants the Inpex Corporation, which has a 10% stake in the field, to leave Iran. If it does not, it could be targeted for unilateral US sanctions.

Toyota Motors withdrew from Iran in June to avoid US sanctions.

1750 GMT: The Battle Within. And another analyst joins in (see 1235 GMT): Reza Aslan says, "[Ahmadinejad] is going home to a country in political turmoil, an economy on the verge of utter collapse, and a government in total deadlock."

1740 GMT: Yes, I Guess Social Media Really is Unimportant. In the context of this week's discussion on EA on social media and activism, I found that interesting....

Iranian state-controlled television is calling Facebook and Twitter the "hidden enemies" of Iran, used by Western intelligence agencies to recruit new members and gather data on individuals. Mardomak has posted a video.

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Iran Analysis: A Divided Regime Lashes Out

A curious Tuesday. We were handling an escalation in reports of Iran's economic troubles, marked by a sharp drop in the value of its currency. We saw further signs such as a ban on wire transfers for business transactions and the Minister of Labor's call for a ban on unnecessary imports.

Yet despite or linked to or beyond this news, the reports also mounted of the Government's repression. More sentences were confirmed yesterday: ten years on a Kurdish citizen, Gharib Fatemi, three years for journalist Isa Saharkhiz, and 19 1/2 years for Iran's "Blogfather", the Iranian-Canadian national Hossein Derakhshan.

So the snowball of long-term imprisonment rolls on and arguably gathers pace: these sentences follow last week's punishments such as six or seven years' of additional jail time for journalist and activist Emad Baghi, primarily because he dared to film an interview with Grand Ayatollah Montazeri for the BBC.

The regime may be wounding itself day by day, but it is the wounded animal which is often the most ferocious.

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Obama's Civil Liberties: Wiretapping the Internet, Protecting the "State Secrets" of Assassination

Two stories this week that continue the 20-month tale of how President Obama who, in his Inaugural Address declared, "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals", is fulfilling that promise....

First, as the Administration condemns other countries who monitor their citizens on the Internet, The New York Times reveals:

"Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone."

Then there is the latest on how the Administration is protecting its assassination order against a US citizen who is reportedly in Yemen....

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Afghanistan: In Defence of Hamid Karzai (Foust)

The conflict within the US Administration over the American strategy towards Afghanistan Hamid Karzai escalates. One faction considers him Washington's partner, to the point where he is receiving payments from the CIA. Another considers him a fundamental part of the problem of Kabul's governance and corruption.

On Tuesday, The New York Times published the revelation that the National Security Agency, responsible for the collection of electronic intelligence, was wire-tapping Karzai's older brother Mahmoud, and derisory chatter about Karzai as "mentally ill" got louder.

In contrast, Joshua Foust rose to the defence of Karzai, albeit by saying the problems were much larger than the man who holds the Presidency. From Foreign Policy:

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has come under considerable criticism in the U.S. for his emotional outbursts and cantankerousness. Foreign Policy managing editor Blake Hounshell mocked Karzai recently for crying over the prospect that his son, Mirwais, might leave the country to live a better life. Bob Woodward’s newest book alleges that Karzai is has received treatment for manic depression and smokes marijuana -- leading commentators to speculate that the Afghan president has lost the ability to lead. However, Hamid Karzai remains the only real option for crafting a political and institutional framework that will stabilize the country, and the sooner the U.S. realizes it, and stops wishing for a perfect leader to fix an imperfect war, the better off we’ll be.

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The Flotilla Shootings: Did a UN Commission Find Israel Guilty of 6 "Executions"? (Porter)

Gareth Porter writes for truthout:

The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively, for the first time, that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.

The report reveals that Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was filming with a small video camera on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and that he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground.

The report says Dogan had apparently been "lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time" before being shot in his face.

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Gaza Blockade: Israel Intercepts Jewish Aid Yacht "Irene"

This morning Israel Defense Forces intercepted the "Irene", a Jewish aid boat attempting to break the naval blockade on Gaza. There were no casualties. 

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement: "IDF naval forces recently boarded the yacht "Irene", and it is currently being led to the Ashdod seaport along with its passengers."

IDF chief spokesman Avi Benayahu said:

[The aid boat's] entire intention was to generate media attention and [stage] a provocation. This matter is especially regrettable as we are talking about a group of Jews and of Israeli citizens, and even someone who has worn an IDF officer's uniform.

Pakistan: Stepping Up the Drone Killings (And How to Accept Them)

A curious --- and telling --- juxtaposition of stories this morning about the US use of drones for "targeted" killings in Pakistan.

The New York Times finally gets to the difficult question of relations between Washington and Islamabad, given that the US is taking out dozens of people on Pakistani soil, but notice how carefully it treads.

The opening paragraph makes clear that this is an operation --- implying, in my opinion, that it is a necessary operation --- against the "Taliban" and to prevent "possible terrorist attacks". Then, almost to forestall the response that might come from Islamabad, the story declares the "mounting frustration both in Afghanistan and the United States that Pakistan’s government has not been aggressive enough" in its approach.

And, while the article adds reassurances --- airstrikes that take out 50 people "are rare"; no US ground invasion imminent --- notice the caveat from US officials, which goes beyond any minor consideration of Pakistani opinion: "[This] could change...if Pakistan-based militants were successful in carrying out a terrorist attack on American soil."

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Israel-Palestine: What the US Should Do Now on Settlements (Walt)

If I were President Obama (and you can all be glad I'm not), I'd call my entire Middle East team into the Oval office for a little chat. Here's what I'd say:

"I made a promise to the American people, and to the world, that we would achieve 'two states for two peoples' during my first term. When I was in Cairo more than a year ago, I said this goal was in "America's interest, Israel's interest, the Palestinians' interest, and the world's interest." And I meant it. I trusted each of you to help me bring that goal about, and I've taken your advice for over twenty months. Let me be clear: it isn't working, and I'm not one who is satisfied with failure. Nor am I going to reward it. So I am telling each of you now: If you can't help me get this deal done within one year, I'm going to fire every one of you and get some new faces in here."

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