- 1 November 2011
- 0 Comments
- Sanctions
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ3cHPxsi2k]
You think landing a plane under normal circumstances is tough? Try landing one without the front landing gear. This rather traumatizing and harrowing experience brings up an issue that needs to be examined: the effect of sanctions on Iran’s civilian aviation fleet. The fleet is already dangerously dilapidated, crash prone and is set to become worse still. But outrageous as it sounds, some members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee believe it should be even more dangerous to fly in Iran, and are taking action to make it so.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to vote on a bill tomorrow that would prevent the President from utilizing his humanitarian waiver authority to license the repair of civilian aircraft and the sale of civilian spare parts to Iran. The bill would specifically ban “licenses to export or reexport goods, services, or technology relating to civil aviation” and make all existing licenses null and void.
Congress evidently doesn’t care much about your safety if you’re Iranian or if you’re one of the 75% of Iranian Americans who travel to Iran.