Washington
The world bank has agreed to loan Iran $900 million for projects such as sewage systems, earthquake victim relief, and improved health care. The US will be the largest contributor, with Japan and Saudi Arabia providing the bulk of the capital. The announcement has created shock waves around the US political and financial community. Most citing that the money will be diverted to fund Iran’s nuclear weapon research and development.
The announcement comes on the heels of new economic sanctions from the US, as well as a congressional vote to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. The Revolutionary Guard is the largest arm of the military with powerful influence into the country’s business sector.
The sanctions which expressly target Bank Melli, the largest in the country, seem to be wholly ignored by the World Bank who will use Bank Melli as the funding agent. Melli had been labeled the primary funding source for the nuclear enrichment program in Iran.
Illinois Republican Mark Kirk is furiously trying to urge his fellow congress men and women to squash these loans, yet the World Bank claims that the loans from world aid organizations such as itself are exempt from existing UN sanctions.
Commentary
This is not the first such loan by the World Bank. In fact, the WB has come under scrutiny for loaning money to Iran back in 2000 when they loaned over $230 million for sewage and healthcare programs (according to the BBC article of 2002). So how bad is this sewage problem in Iran anyway? Are they just shitting up the pipes so much that it’s causing major backups? Is there that much sewage reform needed? Please!
This move by the World Bank is perplexing to say the least. It seems to undermine the sanctions imposed by the US and the UN. No doubt there will be a rush of phone calls and emails to various representatives and senators around the country, and rightly so, as this money comes directly from the US Treasury, the tax-payers money. The World Bank has ignored congressional reaction in the past, so there’s nothing to say that it can be stopped.
Iran, an oil rich country, also provided relief funds to the US after hurricane Katrina. So what’s going on here? Are we just trading money back and forth for fun? It seems ridiculous, and I wish I could make some sense of it, but I can’t. Please give me your take on this story and leave a comment below.
Last 5 posts by G-man
- Super Tuesday, 4 Not-So-Super Candidates and How Healthcare Might Have been Saved - February 1st, 2008
- A Pound of Flesh for a Pound of Chicken - December 4th, 2007
- Democrat Hopefulls Resound, "I support the Right to Privacy." I Say Cut the Shit! - November 18th, 2007
- Weakening Dollar, Inflation Cause and Effect and How to Hedge Yourself - November 11th, 2007
- PEST November Poll - October 31st, 2007
1 response so far ↓
1 RiTT da ReDD // Nov 6, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I wonder if Germany got a similar loan a few years before invading Poland. On the flip side at least we now have a vested interest in not bombing them back to the stone age. Till their tanks are Poland bound that is.
You must log in to post a comment.