How the NIE has helped destroy American interests in one simple lesson

Financial Times:

Iran-Europe gas deals anger Washington

By Daniel Dombey in Washington, Anna Fifield in Tehran and Haig Simonian in Zurich

Published: April 30 2008 18:05 | Last updated: April 30 2008 18:05

The US and its allies are worried that the sanctions regime against Tehran is under threat from a possible new wave of European investment in Iran's strategically important gas sector.

Tehran has already concluded gas deals with Chinese and Malaysian companies - ending a protracted lull in investment in its energy sector - and has alarmed Washington by reaching an agreement with a Swiss group.

The dilemma threatens to expose the limited US influence over foreign companies strategic decisions.

Although Washington and its allies have convinced the United Nations Security Council to sign up to three sets of sanctions against Iran's nuclear and missile sectors and banks, it has been unable to broaden such international measures into the key energy sector.

If these corporations, and groups of corporations had REAL tangible fear that the US was going to take out Iranian nuclear assetts and oil and gas supplies from Iran were questionable in any following chaos, NO ONE would sign such an agreement. More, the signings mean, as Bill Gertz showed over and over HERE that those considered our friends and partners will more and more ally themselves economically so that they will be against the security needs of the people of the USA. We should recognize this, and recognize that this is natural. Nations have no friends, only interest, it is famously reported.

We need to conduct ourselves in recognition that while we would like the shared values of democracy and freedom of expression to make our interests common enough to be true friends, many other nations conduct themselves as being more 'sophisticated' than the rube, gun toting, nekulturny cowboys.

Thus the NIE, gives life to a process which is working against the safety of the the people, as more and more, when these agreements are signed, the businesses, their employees, and those who receive their supplies from Iran find themselves in the position that anything which disturbs this new relationship endangers their heat, electricity, mobility and jobs.

It is therefore ESSENTIAL that the western democracies take very seriously the idea that agreements of this kind IMPERIL their energy supplies.

Of course it is just this conundrum which finds itself expressed in the polls which tell us the USA and Israel are the most dangerous nations in the world. We had better be. Almost everyone else appears ready to sign with anyone for a buck. We had better be dangerous to such people.

Now, the US fears that a 25-year supply agreement concluded in March between Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft Laufenburg (EGL) of Switzerland and Iran could encourage other deals, particularly in the gas sector, despite American calls for tougher sanctions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme. The Swiss government says the deal could be worth up to €27bn ($42bn, £21bn).

“The worry is that the Swiss deal will lead others, such as the Austrians, to confirm energy investments in Iran, and that companies like [France’s] Total could then follow suit and sign contracts of their own,” said one western diplomat. He pointed out that the EGL agreement ended a period in which European energy companies had largely confined themselves to agreeing only non-binding memoranda of understanding with Iran.

He added: “There is a lot of attention on sanctions on Iranian banks, but investment in the energy sector is much more important for Iran’s economy.” Iran has the world’s second-largest proven gas reserves, but exports far below its potential.