Foreign Affairs Magazine disagrees with Chokepoints – calls economic sanctions “an alternative universe” of “happy talk”

[johnkarls]

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The final paragraph of a 10-page 2,020-word article entitled “The Lies America Tells Itself About The Middle East” dated 9/16/2025 says --

“Over decades, the United States had gradually built an alternate universe. A universe in which happy talk comes true and actions produce promised consequences….. In which economic sanctions yield desired political change, domesticate the Houthis, reverse Iran’s nuclear advances……


[The article is available at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-s ... ogged_in=1.]

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This perspective about economic sanctions vis-à-vis the Middle East is provided because the Second Short Quiz said vis-à-vis Chokepoints’ PART TWO – IRAN AND THE BOMB (Chapters 8-21) --

No questions are provided for these chapters because --

(A) The Iranian nuclear program has been eliminated, at least for foreseeable future, by the “Twelve Day War” June 12-24, 2025 in which the only U.S. military personnel involved performed a U.S. Air Force bombing mission on the last day.

(B) As stated in our FedEx letter to Pres. Biden on his 1/20/2020 inauguration day, we opined that Pres. Obama’s Iranian Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) from which Pres. Trump withdrew the U.S. in his first term, should NOT be renewed WITHOUT --

• Eliminating its guarantee of Iranian nuclear weapons by 2030,
• Providing for “anytime anywhere” inspections, and
• Banning development of short-range and inter-continental ballistic missiles since the latter are only needed for nuking “The Great Satan” (i.e., the U.S.).

(C) Pres. Biden’s actions were pitifully weak --

• Groveling to be permitted to rejoin the JCPOA without any changes;
• Even submitting to Iran’s insistence that Russian President Vladimir Putin be America’s chief negotiator in the groveling; and
• Finally being spurned by the Iranians.

(D) Pres. Biden’s “economic sanctions” were obviously equally ineffectual.