Rational Choice Theory -- Obama's Sanctions on Iran

The Rational Choice Made by a U.S. President

The recent action by U.S. President Barack Obama to place additional sanctions on the country of Iran represents one more step in the West's attempt to stymie Iran's apparent drive to build a nuclear bomb. It has been known for some time that Iran had nuclear reactors for generating electricity, and from the production of electricity through nuclear fission, materials for a bomb can be gleaned. But the key issue to Western governments (Europe, the U.S., Canada and other Western nations) is to try and block Iran's policy by cutting off the number of countries that Iran can sell crude oil to. Specifically, Obama targeted "financial institutions doing business with Iran's central bank, a key conduit for the country's oil sales," according to The Wall Street Journal (Hodge, et al., 2012)

. In making...
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