The Bush administration has finally turned in its battle against nuclear proliferation to the one Western weapon that is apparently downright omnipotent:The Almighty Dollar.
Washington has begun to employ the mighty new weapon to cut off Iran and North Korea from the international financial system.
As part of its devastating dollar-diplomacy, officials from the USA have met with banks overseas to warn them against doing business with Iranian and North Korean businesses that have been linked to the spread of nuclear materials and to the support of terrorist groups. In fact, the United States is threatening to bar American banks from working with financial institutions that do not hearken to the warning.
The Almighty Dollar has already flashed its lightning bolts. For example, last month American banks were barred from facilitating some transactions for a leading Iranian bank with reputed ties to terrorist groups.
And it appears that the weapon is already winning its first battles. For instance, experts say that some foreign banks are already cutting their ties with Iran and North Korea.
Of course, there are potential pitfalls in such mighty powerful unilateral action. But the administration is determined to proceed because it knows full well that the Almighty Dollar is the most powerful weapon in the national arsenal.
It also has the much appreciated benefit of only being explosive metaphorically.
Tom Attea, humorist and creator of NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway. Critics have called his writing "delightfully funny," "witty," with "good, genuine laughs" and "great humor and ebullience." |
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