Firms Contracting With U.S. Government Flout Iran Sanctions Law,

[UnderseaLcpl]

<applause>

I have nothing but respect for Maersk and Komatsu, and I hope they find many a way around this idiotic sanction. For some reason, there are people who really believe that sanctions will somehow prevent an extremist rogue state from developing weapons or the wherewithal to use them. Y'know, because it's worked so many times before

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Trading with a nation is one of the surest ways to make it completely non-threatening. Even a die-hard.... insane Islamic theocracy like Iran cannot stand for long against the quality of life that free trade brings. Free trade creates wealth. Wealth creates independence, education, secularism, generosity, etc. etc. In short, common people who have access to a good quality of life and an reasonable ability to advance themselves will not bother with idiotic extremist ideology, and they will not support a theocratic power structure. They'll become Islamic laxtremists.

Rather than isolating and shunning Iran, thus giving her cause to hate us with more fervor, we should be undermining her ridiculous bass-ackwards values with knowledge and cool gizmos, and she will give us oil and other products in exchange. Before you know it, she'll resemble the Special Economic Zones of Communist China; ideological in name only, and dedicated to overthrowing state-imposed stupidity. She'll also be behind more developed nations in terms of economic power. Can you say "monopsony"?

What we should really be looking at is who stands to gain from an anti-Iran agenda. I'll take a wild guess and suppose that it isn't domestic industries or politicians who need votes; y'know, those self-serving A-wipes we all know and love.