Thomas Jefferson

Despite warnings from the UN Security Council, Iran is continuing its program of uranium enrichment. In response, the United States and its allies, France and Great Britain, have written a proposal for sanctions to be imposed on Iran as punishment for ignoring the Security Council’s order to stop the enrichment program. To be effective, the sanctions would require the support of all of the members of the Security Council, including China and Russia, both of which view Iran as an important trade partner. If the Security Council wants to obtain unanimity, the wording of the sanctions may have to be softened from its current form, because China and Russia fear that severe sanctions might be the first step on a path toward UN military intervention in Iran.

Long before the advent of nuclear power, Thomas Jefferson urged the use of diplomatic tactics such as sanctions in order to avoid the use of war. In 1794, he wrote to Tench Coxe:

“I love peace, and I am anxious that we should give the world still another useful lesson, by showing to them other modes of punishing injuries than by war, which is as much punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer.”

Even the pacifist Jefferson realized, however, that there were times when diplomatic statements and sanctions might fail to bring about the desired behavior from other nations, and that war might be necessary. He said:

“When peace becomes more losing than war, we may prefer the latter on principles of pecuniary calculation.”

It remains to be seen whether diplomacy will be enough to stop Iran’s nuclear program, or whether the United States and its allies might eventually take military action.