Isolating Iran's Bad Guys

On Rep. Howard Berman's Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, Gregg Carlstrom writes:

So we're debating a policy with no demonstrable upside, and a range of nasty downsides. Tougher sanctions could drive up world oil prices; they could undercut the Green Movement, still risking life and limb to protest; they could have a devastating impact on the Iranian poor and middle classes (Iraq in the 1990s remains a haunting example). Oh, and a gasoline embargo could be perceived as an act of war.

No upside; steep downsides. And yet we're still discussing this policy! Why?

I think some of these "downsides" are subject to interpretation. For example, if you want to hurt the IRGC--as some insist we should be doing--you are going to hurt the Iranian poor and middle class. The Guards are heavily invested in--if not in outright control of--several of Iran's vital industries.

Many criticized President Bush for designating the IRGC a terrorist group, but isolating and distinguishing them from the average Iranian seems to be all the rage lately. It's unfortunately not that simple.

And I think embargo talk is a bit premature. This bill, as far as I can tell, is more like a glorified "sense of the Congress" resolution than a serious gesture against the Iranian regime.

(AP Photos)