Thursday, July 10, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.
President Bush named Iran as one of the members of the “axis of evil,” but under his administration U.S. exports to that country have increased more than tenfold, according to an analysis of trade records by the Associated Press.
The Bush administration has approved the applications of more than 2,800 companies to do business with Iran. Several major U.S. companies have done business with Iran, including PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, Canon, GE Healthcare and Wells Fargo.
In Bush’s first seven years in office, the United States has sent Iran $546 million worth of goods, including cosmetics, bras, sculptures, fur clothing, perfume, musical equipment and airline parts.
Cigarettes are the most exported product to Iran — the United States has sent at least $158 million worth to Iran during the Bush administration. In comparison, the United States has sent only $73 million worth of vaccines, serums and blood products.
What kind of foreign policy is this? It is one thing to send humanitarian aid, but yet another to send perfume and cigarettes.
Unfortunately, President Bush’s foreign policy has been marked by brash talk and rash actions. The United States needs a consistent and firm foreign policy regarding Iran, which is certainly a threat to security in the Middle East, but such a policy isn’t going to happen with this administration.
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