Latest in Sanctions
Countering Iran requires gains “on the ground” from tangible measures such as sanctions and, where necessary, the use of force, and also requires gaining the moral high ground of legitimacy in the war of ideas.
Treating China lightly for its support of North Korea is consistent with the approach of the Bush and Obama administrations, but it makes little legal or strategic sense today.
Russia sanctions legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress. Here's a breakdown of the two leading bills.
Last summer, I pointed out that U.S. law already authorizes the President to impose targeted economic sanctions to deter or punish Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. That none were imposed, however, is hardly surprising. Although U.S. sanctions are often threatened, the U.S. government has rarely, if ever, imposed economic sanctions on a Chinese company or individual, even for offenses such as cyber-theft or illegal trade with Iran.
As Thomas Rid explains in this terrific piece in Esquire, the Russian government has developed a remarkable capacity for blending the fruits of espionage with information operations designed to manipulate public opinion abroad. It has deployed this capacity in the past in various contexts without generating much discussion in U.S. circles, but recent activities apparently designed to impact the U.S.
The media scrutiny around the U.S-Iranian $1.7 billion financial settlement is a Rohrschach test for how you feel about the Iran Nuclear Deal.
The Lawfare Research Paper Series introduces a new working paper—Partially Unwinding Sanctions: The Problematic Construct of Sanctions Relief in the JCPOA by Sahand Moarefy.
Are the wheels coming off the Iran deal? Less than a year after Iran, America, and five other world powers inked a comprehensive nuclear accord, a debate over its terms has erupted anew. In Washington, the braggadocio of a prominent White House aide is fueling Republican accusations that President Obama deliberately deceived the Congress and the country about Iran and the deal. And in Tehran, frustration over the residual impact of American sanctions has prompted increasingly resentful accusations from Iranian leaders that the United States has failed to live up to its end of the bargain. As a result, some are fretting that the deal is “at risk” and are laying blame on the White House doorstep.
The JCPOA might eventually require the U.S. government to argue that some (though not all) of the state sanctions against Iran are preempted.
This week on the podcast, Cliff Kupchan discusses the Russian intervention in Syria and explains why Russia engages the world the way it does.