Bras? Bull semen? Business with Iran soars during Bush years

Of the hot-button issues that dominate the foreign policy of the Bush administration in its waning months, perhaps none puts people on edge as much as the question of what President Bush is planning to do about Iran and its nuclear program.

At its heart, the administration's policy has been built around trying to isolate Iran -- diplomatically and, importantly, economically. The idea is that the Iranian people will put enough pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Iranian government will back off and shut down what Washington says is a program intended to develop nuclear weapons. (Iran says it is seeking only to develop a civilian nuclear power program; a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate last year concluded that Iran had abandoned a clandestine nuclear weapons program in 2003).

So, the administration has been adamant: No business with Iran without Washington's approval. Of course, that means no centrifuges or smaller items that could be used to enrich uranium or feed in a lesser way into an effort to build nuclear warheads.

But, as the Associated Press discovered, that doesn't mean nothing gets through. In a lengthy account, it reported that among the items Iran is managing to purchase from the United States -- despite the stiff effort to crack down on Tehran's dealings with the West and indeed all outsiders -- are: cigarettes, brassieres, bull semen, vitamins, soybeans, medical equipment and vegetable seeds.

All told, the wire service found, "U.S. exports to Iran grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office." So far.

For the AP story, click here.

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo: Behrouz Mehri / AFP-Getty Images

Comments

[Jack]

I wonder how many of these exporters were big donors to the Bush campaign in 2000 and 2004. As the recent Hunt debacle proves, you give big bucks to Dubya, and the White House looks the other way when you make big profits on actions that weaken the United States.

Not unlike how Dick Cheney and Halliburton made a ton of money doing deals with Saddam Hussein.

[Erick Blair]

"Countdown to Crawford"? "Bull semen"? Man, you guys are hilarious. I read that the OC Register is outsourcing its editorial work to India. Well the LAT's financial implosion is widely known so here's a helpful thought. Maybe you guys can save a few desperately needed bucks by outsourcing your work to Kazakhstan. Borat is way funnier than you.