Japanese banks curb loans to Iran

Good for Japan, good for the free world. Bad for Guy Dinmore, who I'm sure was saddened to report the setback for one of his favorite regimes.

Japan's private sector, responding to signals from Washington, is adding to financial pressure on Iran by restricting loans and rejecting an Iranian request to pay for oil imports in currencies other than the dollar, banking and official sources say.

A senior banker said three big banks - Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui - had told the Iranian authorities in April that they would not conduct new business in Iran.

The development puts Japanese banks in a different position to many European counterparts that have reduced dollar transactions with Iran but are still willing to conduct business in euros.

The banker, who asked not to be named, said the banks' action followed pressure from Washington and reflected a hardening line towards Iran by Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister.

Michael Rubin on self-flagellation & defeatism

Very simple but true point(s).

No trends in the U.S. foreign policy debate are more dangerous than self-flagellation and defeatism. Lt. Gen. William Odom is guilty of both ("21 Solutions to Save the World: The Nuclear Option," May/June 2007). To blame recent Iranian and North Korean behavior on U.S. President George W. Bush defies accuracy. Both Tehran's and Pyongyang's nuclear programs accelerated alongside the U.S. engagement of the 1990s. Too often, policymakers prioritize diplomacy and deals over their substance and content. Now, we're paying the price for that kind of thinking.

Nor is Odom correct to assume that welcoming Iran and North Korea into the nuclear club will bring security. Cold War stability is a myth; the United States and the Soviet Union were simply lucky that nuclear crises did not spin out of control. Add the messianic ideology of some factions of Iran's clerical leadership to the mix, and the efficacy of traditional deterrence is even less certain. If Odom does not recognize the primacy of ideology to Iran's theocratic leadership, he misunderstands the Islamic Republic's motivations for its long embrace of terrorism and its defiance of international norms. Arguing that the Iranian leadership opposes al Qaeda is undermined by the findings of the 9/11 Commission. Pragmatism in Iran's theocratic circles is often more about bridging the Islamic sectarian divide to combat Western culture than a sincere effort at diplomacy. Although external regime change is out of the question, policymakers in the United States should neither preserve rogue regimes against their own demographic pressures nor rescue them from their economic failures. Offering inducements to them on the nuclear issue would do just that.

Japan extends Iran sanctions over nuclear stalemate

Some action. Arigato gozai mashta!

Japan on Friday extended its sanctions against Iran, freezing the assets of 13 organisations and 15 individuals over Tehran's refusal to accept international demands to curb its nuclear drive.

"Japan needs to take stern action against Iran as the maintenance of nuclear non-proliferation is believed to be closely related to North Korea's nuclear issues," Foreign Minister Taro Aso told a news conference.

Tokyo has taken the hardest line against neighbouring North Korea over its nuclear program and has also joined the international community in sanctioning Iran, previously blacklisting 12 individuals and 10 organisations.

One of the organisations penalised Friday is Iran's state-run Bank Sepah, which is thought to have links to Tehran's nuclear development, said a foreign ministry official on the customary condition of anonymity.

"The bank now cannot operate new deals with Japanese companies," he said, without identifying all of the organisations and individuals.

The sanctions also include a more comprehensive ban on arms trade with Iran, covering ships that load containers in the Islamic Republic.

"Japan already has banned arms imports and exports with Iran," the official said.

US efforts bear fruit in Philippines

One place the US does seem to be winning the hearts and minds is in the Philippines. See this Yahoo! News story.

Meanwhile, a sustained U.S. military presence has fostered a long-missing sense of security across Mindanao, heartland of the Philippines' restive Muslim minority. The wrenching poverty in this sprawling, southern part of the Philippine archipelago has created a rich recruiting ground for extremist groups, and the poverty remains, but there are hopes that U.S.-funded aid projects may make a difference.

Compared to the huge operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S.-backed effort in the Philippines is tiny, only about 200 troops.

But unlike the other missions, this intervention is generally accepted, even though U.S. interference is an emotional issue in the Philippines, a former American colony.

"They're really contributing a lot to the overall security," said Hermogenes Esperon, the Philippine military chief of staff. "They've spent so much for their deployment. We should be reciprocating, but they're not demanding anything in return but our commitment to work with them in the fight against terrorism."