Sanctions Are An Act Of War
Economic sanctions have a long and brutal history, almost as long as the history of war itself.
What they don’t have— especially in recent memory— is a history of accomplishing their ostensible goal of changing governments’ behavior.
Over the past 30-plus years, roughly beginning with the 1990 – 1991 Gulf crisis and U.S.-led war against Iraq, Washington’s imposition of harsh economic sanctions has vastly expanded. Whether imposed directly or compelled by the United Nations under U.S. pressure, sanctions are often described as an “alternative” to war — softer, less deadly, more humane.