Sanction vs. Survival

Last night I only managed to catch the last half of the debate where Ryan and Biden repeatedly backstabbed each other, even when responding to a question regarding why this presidential election has been full of derogatory comments towards the opposing party. I now fully understand the comment in class about how much we learn from debates by simply watching their mannerisms, although Ryan’s profound widow’s peak was also distracting. This morning I turned to the New York Times to find some more substantial issues in the debate I had missed and found “Two Rivals Clash on Fiscal Affairs and Iran,” a topic much more prevalent to IPE than the abortion clip I tuned in on.

They brought up the cause of the sanctions, as we discussed in class, as being based in “Iran’s ability to obtain nuclear weapons.” Ryan continued to push that we aren’t tough enough in our sanctions, and that the administration is being too lenient. While I fully accept the argument that we must protect our nation from nuclear attack, there is a fine line between protecting our nation and forcing Iranian citizens to starve by not having access to food sources. Humanity trumps the definition of a nation-state, a concept that many politicians on both sides of the spectrum seem to neglect. When Ryan was asked if he would protect other nations for humanitarian reasons, he claimed he would only do so if it were in our national security interest. On another spectrum, the blog for the Council of Foreign Relations states “nearly all Americans agree that foreign policy issues are not important in this election.” While domestic policies are undoubtedly at the forefront of the elections, we cannot neglect foreign policy, as many are seemingly inclined to do.

One thing the candidates differ on only slightly are their beliefs on foreign policy (Washington Post) and both support the sanctions, and there is recent evidence that  “the sanctions are creating the kind of economic hardship that the Obama administration hopes will generate pressure on Iran’s government to give up its uranium-enrichment program.” While this was a wanted effect of the sanctions, it forces us to return to the humanitarian issue of the Iranian citizens. Again, while national security is vitally important, we cannot neglect humanitarian suffering that we are causing and we will not successfully combat these issues if both parties instinctively tear down the other to attract more voters.