EU refuses to back Britain over call to threaten exports freeze
What a bunch of bs.
European foreign ministers failed last night to back Britain in a threat to freeze the €14 billion trade in exports to Iran, as the hostage crisis descended into a propaganda circus. EU foreign ministers meeting in Germany called for the sailors to be freed but ruled out any tightening of lucrative export credit rules. The EU is Iran’s biggest trading partner. British officials are understood to have taken soundings on economic sanctions before the meeting but found few takers.
EU Strategy: We shall throw the cheese at them!
France, Iran’s second-largest EU trading partner, cautioned that further confrontation should be avoided. The Dutch said it was important not to risk a breakdown in dialogue
The Neo-Cons chime in... now we're talking!
Britain’s response to the seizure of its sailors and Marines has been branded weak by Republicans in Washington. John Bolton, until recently the US Ambassador to the United Nations, described the Government’s incremental approach as “pathetic”.
He said that Mr Blair should be threatening “real pain, real economic sanctions” unless Iran released the sailors immediately. “Britain has got to be tougher here,” he said.
Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, urged Britain to threaten military force to destroy Iran’s petroleum industry.
It has taken me several minutes to be able to respond to this post without expletives. I have long maintained that once Iraq is secure and we are ready to redeploy our troops, it should be with stops in Berlin and Paris. This solidifies that wish.
ReplyDeleteOne wonders just how utterly amoral, craven and unprinicpled the EU must be to turn their back on the UK and continue to support a country whose nuclear program poses an existential threat to them -- but who is also providing the filthy lucre at the moment. Do they not realize that by failing to assist the UK, they increase exponentially the likelihood of open warfare. All Tony needs to do is give the word and all Iranian ports will be blockaded and the sky will be black with aircraft heading towards Iranian targets - all compliments of Uncle Sam.
If they think for a moment that a lame duck Bush, not facing reelection, is not going to pull the trigger on this sooner rather then later, they lack any sense of realism.
I do hope, in any event, that we make the EU pay a price for this. Probably the best way would be to end the waivers that allow the US to deal with companies that also have dealings with Iran. If naught else, that would get their attention.