Iran: Economic Sanctions Success Story?

Economic sanctions don't always get the best rap. Frustrated Middle East watchers and myriad Obama critics point to Iran as proof that sanctions aren't coercive, but the detractors may have spoken too soon.

FP's The Cable blog (which, incidentally, has impressed me with its coverage of the Syrian chemical weapons story) put up a new piece this Friday on the reputation of Hasan Rouhani, Iran's new president, in the US intelligence community. Former IC officials who met Rouhani during the Reagan administration say he struck them as a genuine moderate.

If they're right, his election could be a first step toward real progress on ending Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. But the article also mentions another contributing factor: the UN sanctions regime.

Korea Checkpoints #1

I've been in Korea about 8 months now. I've been thinking and reading a lot about Korean affairs and international affairs more generally, but I'm getting the itch to start writing about it, too. Here's what I'm paying attention to in Korean affairs right now:

Is the UK finally accepting that it isn't a world power?

I was reading this article that was posted on RCW from the Daily Telegraph about the debate on whether Britain should relinquish its nuclear armaments and accept that it is no longer a world power. To relinquish their Trident (Nuclear defence) Program, they would have to also relinquish their permanent seat on the UN security council and much of its global influence and status. To update Trident technology on the other hand would mean a serious reduction in the UK's military capabilities as the update the Trident deterrent system would be using Ministry of Defence (MoD) funds which are already being cut by 10%.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/concoughlin/7967116/If-Britain-wishes-to-remain-a-brglobal-power-it-needs-Trident.html

In my opinion this is just the next step in the British realising that they are no longer the Empire that they used to be. Although this has already been to a large extent realised when Britain severed itself from former colonies economically, closed its borders to immigrants from its own 'commonwealth' and began bandwagoning with the US, its posturing as a global power in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has demonstrated its audacity in holding onto its past well into the 21st century.

Global Zero vs Global Nine

Last week, I received an email from my school alerting me to an upcoming program run by "Global Zero" on our campus. Global Zero is an organization that promotes the total elimination of all nuclear weapons the world over by 2030.

I have serious doubts about whether a world without nuclear weapons would be a universally good thing. But whether or not "Global Zero" is a desirable goal, I don't think it's really possible. I can't see many of the nine current nuclear powers being ready to dismantle their weapons in the near or intermediate future.

Here's why.