The record of economic sanctions in forcing political change is dismal, but as a way of reducing a country to poverty and misery it is difficult to beat. UN sanctions were imposed against Iraq from 1990 until 2003. Supposedly, it was directed against Saddam Hussein and his regime, though it did nothing to dislodge or weaken them: on the contrary, the Baathist political elite took advantage of the scarcity of various items to enrich themselves by becoming the sole suppliers.…
There is nothing very new in this. Economic sanctions are like a medieval siege but with a modern PR apparatus attached to justify what is being done. A difference is that such sieges used to be directed at starving out a single town or city while now they are aimed at squeezing whole countries into submission....
Non-combatants bear the brunt of economic warfare. This is not "collateral damage." A civilian population is targeted intentionally in the expectation of fomenting internal strife that will weaken the regime, and ideally spark revolt.
Independent (UK)
It’s time we saw economic sanctions for what they really are – war crimes
Patrick Cockburn
Very true. War crimes.
ReplyDeleteGrave violations of international law and in particular of the Geneva Conventions.
ReplyDeleteThe Allies could not prosecute Germany for a multitude of war crimes that they themselves had committed as well such as bombing civilian populations.
Another ruling elite psychopath.
ReplyDeleteYoutube
END WAR: Madeleine Albright Says Deaths Of 500,000 Iraqi Children Is Worth It; UN Sanction Genocide
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R0WDCYcUJ4o
China will flex it's muscles soon. It will almost certainly issue limited sanctions on US interests when it can garner support from key EU, LatAm and Asian nations. A war monger Democrat will probably win an election, drop freedom bombs and embark on spreading liberal markets again and the Chinese will be successful.
ReplyDeleteWhat about OPEC?
ReplyDeleteThe nations could just use crypto to buy Hoed & Shoeders from China or whoever... who needs the USD?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-12-08/never-heard-of-hoed-shouders-it-s-a-top-seller-in-venezuela
P&G Head and Shoulders or whoever buys their sodium lauryl sulfate from China already. They outsourced the production of consumer and pharmaceutical goods to state owned enterprises -- more productive, less expensive than Western market corps. The SOE employees were taught at US universities subsidized by US states. No role left for Western private enterprises except in very limited niche markets
ReplyDeleteRight Ryan the left is so incompetent... I thought that the Venezuela situation was setting up perfect for some COOP left-wing type production of no frills personal care products but the Chinese hackers went in there instead for pennies which the Venezuela people are still finding it easier to scrape together instead of increasing their domestic production of things like soap and shampoo, etc...
ReplyDeleteMaduro seems like he is still getting a consistent supply of black hair die too... might have to get worse before it gets better...
Just For Hombres(tm)
ReplyDeleteEconomic sabotage Franko. What would you say if Maduro rounded up all the traitors undermining his government, lined them up against the wall and shot them? Aren't you an authoritarian?
ReplyDeleteBut you shouldn't believe everything you read in the newspapers. Abbey Martin went to Venezuela with cameras. There was plenty of food in the shops and the few malcontents interviewed spoke English remarkably well. Compradors unhappy that the more lowly natives have gotten uppity, no doubt.
I agree that the Chinese hackers going in there with the Hoed &Shoeders to squeeze the last drops of USDs out of Venezuela is economic sabotage .....
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