Jeffrey LewisNorth Korea, Iran Meet the Dentist

There are two stories in the press, one stating that Bob Einhorn will become the new coordinator for implementing UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea and another that he will become the top official to enforce sanctions on Iran.

It isn’t clear to me whether these are two independent moves, or whether the Obama Administration is finally moving to impose some discipline over the sanctions process.

ABC News is unclear about the title, but called Einhorn the “super enforcer,” which is a pretty rad title. But not as rad as his nickname — The Dentist.

Those of you may know that he earned the moniker during the Clinton Administration, because the Chinese compared meeting with Einhorn over alleged Chinese proliferation activities to visiting to the dentist.

At least that’s how I heard the story. Feel free to clarify …

Comments

  1. mark hibbs

    There were other versions of what Bob Einhorn’s future position would be, which were floating around the WH and the State Department the last few weeks… maybe these scenarios were overtaken by events?

  2. abcd (History)

    As I’ve heard it, the nickname “The Dentist” came from Einhorn’s constant “drilling” of the Chinese for information into suspected proliferation activities.