A half-century ago this month, on October 22 1962, President John F Kennedy went on television to reveal the presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba and his decision to impose a blockade on the island to stop more Soviet deliveries getting through.
The United States' only recourse is to lead a coalition of the willing (Britain, Australia, Poland and Israel come to mind) to impose a blockade or take military action.
If North Korea shows signs of proliferating — that is, trying to export — its nuclear technology, the U.S. should be prepared to impose a blockade, complete with search and seizure of ships, to inspect everything that goes in or out of the country.
In 1989 the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh led Azerbaijan to impose a blockade, closing a vital natural gas pipeline to Armenia.
Vietnam then dispatched an oil rig to drill there, and it was China's turn to impose a blockade.
It has been four years since Hamas took over, prompting Israel and Egypt to impose a blockade on people and most goods.
But the Prize cases concerned whether President Lincoln had the power to impose a blockade of Confederate ports without Congressional authorization — not in the face of a Congressional ban.
If the United States were to impose a blockade on Iran (which seems unlikely), and another country dispatched a string of ships in a similar operation, is there any chance the United States Navy would let them through without inspection?
McCain might well have the fortitude to impose a blockade, but Obama certainly will not.
On Friday afternoon, state TV reported that within the next 48 hours security forces would impose a blockade on the two protest camps, allowing people to leave but not to go in.
