IF WE JUST SENT THEM AID MONEY YOU MIGHT GET 100% SUPPORT AT THE UN!

U.S. willing to consider weaker Iran sanctions: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says adoption of a new U.N. sanctions resolution is more vital than the actual measures taken. It could serve as a launching pad for stricter sanctions. (Paul Richter, April 15, 2010, LA Times)

Gates' comments were the clearest sign yet that the administration, facing continuing resistance from other countries to the harshest of the proposed measures, is lowering its sights.

U.S. and allied officials have given up on prospects for a ban on petroleum shipments to or from Iran, and some allies have questioned other potential measures.

Some foreign diplomats close to the talks have been predicting for weeks that the Obama administration and its allies would take what they could get, then look ahead to sanctions from individual countries or groups of nations. [...]

The Security Council vote, even if weak, "gives you an international blessing that is worth a lot," said one diplomat representing a government that supports sanctions, speaking on condition of anonymity.

George W. Bush went to the UN and challenged the body to live up to its own founding ideals or we'd do it for them. By contrast, the UR has lowered himself to their level.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 14, 2010 8:52 PM