Rain and the Rhinoceros

Let’s face it, the institution of economic sanctions is an act of war. It is estimated that over 500,000 Iraqi children died as a direct result of U.S. sanctions since 1991. In fact, the deaths from the sanctions were far greater than Iraqi deaths at the hands of the U.S. military during the Gulf War.

In the past few decades, the institution of economic sanctions has become a widely used method of international governance. Under Article 16 of the the UN Charter, the UN Security Council is able to use economic coercion to address “threats of aggression” and “breaches of peace.” On only two occasions, from 1945 to 1990 did the UN only approve economic sanctions. However, since 1990 the Security Council has imposed sanctions on eleven nation-states, including Libya, Somalia, Haiti, and Liberia. In the last sixty years, the United States has unilaterally or with other nations imposed over forty sanctions on various countries. Of course, recent sanctions against Palestine for democratically electing the “terrorist” Hamas party have been particularly painful for civilians and, according to many international human rights organizations, has led to a “humanitarian disaster.”

What is strange and dangerous about economic warfare is that it is politically safe. In other words, many people seem to think that sanctions are simply a mild form of punishment, an act to persuade without going to war. The majority of the U.S. public supports sanctions against Iran, while opposing a military invasion of Iran. Indeed, economic sanctions is a financially better option for the United States and it is questionable whether a military option is even possible at this point.

What is particularly sad about all of this is that the Democratic Presidential hopefuls are in favour of further economic sanctions against Iran. In February Clinton said that “We need to use every tool at our disposal, including diplomatic and economic in addition to the threat and use of military force.” Obama advocates that the US go before the UN Security Council in order to put more pressure on Iran. He suggests that the international community should use further economic sanctions on Iran. In case this appears to weak, Obama has assured us that he would consider missle attacks and the military option.