Washington’s Endless Sanctions Are Finally Backfiring | The American Conservative
Sanctions are worse than ineffective: they have potentially far-reaching economic impacts. Limiting Iran’s oil sales pushes up energy prices globally. Penalizing technology sales to Moscow disproportionately affects European firms. Even smaller markets matter. Warned Peter Harrell, an attorney specializing in sanctions: “Trump’s August 9 tariffs on Turkey spurred a dramatic market selloff that not only affected Ankara but also caused the stocks of major European banks with business in Turkey to plunge and raised concerns about contagion to other emerging markets.” Washington’s promiscuous use of economic sanctions has moved the global economy away from the liberal marketplace.
Moreover, economic penalties almost always hurt those with the least power, influence, and money. Indeed, regime elites often manipulate sanctions to their own benefit. Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, and a variety of other despots all did fine even while their governments were under sanction. A quarter century ago, I visited Belgrade and talked with opposition leader Zoran Djindzic—later to become prime minister and an assassination victim of ultra-nationalists. He complained that sanctions enriched Milosevic, while his own middle-class supporters lacked money to purchase gasoline to attend his rallies.
Most famously, U.S. sanctions were blamed for the deaths of a half million Iraqi babies. That number likely is an exaggeration, but when questioned about the issue, then-UN ambassador Madeleine Albright did not dispute it. Instead, she responded that “we think the price is worth it”—an extraordinarily callous sentiment that was transmitted throughout the Arab world.
via Washington’s Endless Sanctions Are Finally Backfiring | The American Conservative
AGR; Sanctions actually help support and glorify the dictatorial leader in power. He blames the US for the sanctions, which hurt mostly the 99 percent of the population and not the 1 percent in tyrannical power. Because people are hurt, they tend to agree with the tyrannical dictator and support him against the US, thus further solidifying his power and control over the 99 percent.
The 1 percent could care less about sanctions, as they move money around behind the scenes, via gold, diamonds, oil or whatever else.
It is telling that the CONSERVATIVE magazine is now coming out against sanctions. However, this does not make never ending regime change or war the answer either.
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