"Elizabeth Rosenberg, a U.S. sanctions specialist, says sanctions are 'a sideshow to a threat of military escalation and all-out conflict.' They fuel a narrative focused on Iran rather than the US — and the fact that Trump blinked when he called off a retaliatory military strike after the Iranians admitted to having downed the U.S. drone..." Read the full article here: Full Article
“‘It’s a grueling and exhausting job, particularly given how prominent this tool has become in the execution of U.S. foreign policy,’ said Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former Treasury official who now works at the Center for a New American Security…” Read the full article here: Full Article
“Americans may wonder, too, whether it is worth it, noted Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Mr. Bush’s Iraq coordinator and the author of ‘Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power.’ "‘Many Americans think U.S. interests in protecting Middle Eastern oil supplies have dramatically declined,' she said on Tuesday. “‘They are largely wrong about this,' she said, 'but certainly, most Americans think the days of going to war over oil are in the past...’” Read the full article [...]
“NPR's David Greene talks to Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat who is now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, about the attack. The U.S. says Iran played a key role..." Read the full transcript here: Full Transcript
“Tying Iran’s oil sales so directly to those groups will act as a further deterrent to anyone still involved in Iranian oil exports, including tankers, the insurance industry, brokers, banks and even ship captains, analysts said. “'It is clearly meant to tarnish Iran’s image and oil sales by linking it to support for terrorism and regional destabilization,' said Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former top Treasury sanctions official now a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security..." Read the full article [...]
“The Trump administration says its maximum-pressure campaign on Iran is working. If only that were true. "The administration has consistently made the argument that economic sanctions would deprive the Iranian regime of money and that less money would mean less bad behavior and more concessions at the negotiating table. "Bargaining with Iran is not the same as a closing a real estate deal, however, and Iran-sponsored terrorism is not easily reduced to counting dollars and cents. Less of one does not [...]
"'There are so many sanctions and they are so complex and they cover so many entities in Iran, especially in the financial sector, it's very difficult to find legal, viable, credible, efficient business counterparts in Iran for international businesses to do business with,' says Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former Treasury Department sanctions official. "Even if Western companies do find Iranian business and banking counterparts, Rosenberg says, there's no telling what can happen along the supply chain. 'Now most of the big [Iranian] [...]
"‘For retaliation to be smart it needs to be applied in a targeted and judicious manner for the purpose not of inflicting pain but to change behaviour,' [Daniel Russel] said. 'And you can't claim that Trump's retaliatory measures - the tariffs, the threats, the listing of companies like Huawei - have led to better behaviour by China.' "‘On the contrary [China has] dug itself in more determinedly,' Mr. Russel said. 'The Trump administration has not been able to close any deal, [...]
"During his first two and a half years in office, President Donald Trump and his administration have laid waste to numerous international agreements originally designed to strengthen U.S. security, bolster U.S. alliances, and constrain U.S. adversaries. The toll has been particularly high with respect to deals concerning nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. "Over the past 14 months, the administration has withdrawn from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and abandoned the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Both of these valuable [...]
"Although many administrations have relied on sanctions, Trump has used them with zeal at a cost to the U.S., said Liz Rosenberg, the director of the Energy, Economics and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. She was a senior adviser to one of Mandelker’s predecessors at Treasury during the Obama administration. "Where the U.S. once coordinated with Europeans on issues such as counterterrorism and nuclear nonproliferation, Trump’s sanctions are often one-sided and do not prioritize partnerships, Rosenberg [...]