Key Votes of 1998
- Sanctions Reform
22 December 1998
Congressional Quarterly
"For months, Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, a senior Republican on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, had been waging an often lonely and seemingly
hopeless fight to slow down the use of overseas economic sanctions by
Congress and the executive branch."
Congress may be easing view on sanctions
21 December 1998
Journal of Commerce, Michael S. Lelyveld
"The campaign to limit U.S. unilateral sanctions has gained an unexpected
push as the result of a congressional bid to allow a huge grain sale
to Iran. The effort, backed by the American farm lobby, has the support
of 32 House and Senate members who wrote to President Clinton last week,
urging an exemption from U.S. sanctions law."
The Deaths He Cannot Sanction
17 December 1998
Washington Post, Michael Powell
"There is no easy way to make this argument as bombs and missiles rain
down. No fashionable way to rebut those intent on vengeance against
a nation run by the likes of Saddam Hussein."
As impeachment looms, Clinton asked to be presidential
16 December 1998
Journal of Commerce, Michael Lelyveld
"President Clinton is being asked by Republican senators to launch a
sweeping review of Cuba policy, even as he faces impeachment."
How Iran Does Business
15 December 1998
The Wall Street Journal, Kenneth Timmerman
"But for [Mr.Khatami's] rivals, attracting foreign investment presents
the risk of opening Iranian society to foreign influence and allowing
young Iranians, who comprise more than 60% of the population, to gain
firsthand experience of alternatives to the austere society of the Islamic
Republic."
Meeting an Attack
11 December 1998
Journal of Commerce
"The outgoing head of the U.S. Council for International Business, Abraham
Katz, offered some pointed words of warning the other night about dangers
facing international trade. The trade and transportation communities
would do well to pay attention. The principle underlying his remarks
-- and motivating the council and the business community at large --
was that global trade is a positive force. It drives the economy, improves
quality of life and, in so doing, enables gains to be made in labor
standards and environmental protection.
Dodd Calls for New Discussion About Policy of Isolating Cuba
8 December 1998
Wall Street Journal
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) called for new talks with Cuba, saying
Washington's four-decade policy of isolating the communist nation hasn't
worked. "We've been told over and over again that if we just hold on
a bit longer this policy of absolute no contact, absolute no conversation,
absolute no interchange at all will work," Sen. Dodd told reporters
in Havana Sunday. "Well it hasn't. In fact as I look around, the condition
of the Cuban people is not good."
European Commission knocks US over state-level trade sanctions
2 December 1998
Journal of Commerce
In its annual critique of U.S. trade barriers, the European Commission
has raised concerns over the trend toward subfederal sanctions such
as the Massachusetts law banning purchases from companies doing business
in Myanmar, a commission spokesman said.
It's Christmas in Cuba
2 December 1998
Washington Post Foreign Service
Nearly three decades after Christmas was officially canceled here, Cuba's
ruling political body said today that the holiday should be reinstated.
The declaration was a major concession to the Catholic Church, which
is pushing to expand religious freedom in this tightly controlled Communist
country.
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