“Sanction King” -Trump Sanctions Countries as a Foreign Policy Default.

My intent in this writing is not to give a lecture on economic trade between countries. Nor will it be a dissertation on the differences between sanctions or blockades; (blockades are acts of war, though today it is hard to tell the difference), but what tough economic sanctions do to the innocent of said countries. Further more, how these sanctions are not so dissimilar to war using torture, mayhem, guns, bombs and destruction. In fact, they both are similar in there affect of populations and their rights for survival.

The general definition of economic sanctions, are financial and commercial penalties of a country against a self-governing state, group or individuals. Economic sanctions were originally designed to change the behaviour (emphasis mine) of elites in targeted country. Generally, however, these economic sanctions rarely affect the ruling elites, and seem only to punish the civilian populations, at times causing great suffering.

A good example are the economic sanctions during the first and second Iraq wars. These sanctions began as a “food for oil trade off”. The name “food for oil” should self explanatory enough; the not only food for oil, but these sanctions included basics like water, basic amenities and much needed medicines during a time of intense war. These American and British economic sanctions resulted in the deaths of 500.000 children over a 10 year period, mainly due to lack of nutritious foods and mainly required medicine for the sick, elderly and children.

In a controversial interview on the American news show 60 Minutes, Madeline Albright, President Clinton's Secretary of State, when asked about the 500.000 dead children as a result of sanctions, replied, “It was worth it” , despite the fact of no-existent WMDS. This was later disputed, as a wrong number of deaths, and spun by the establishment machine, that it was Saddam Hussein, who caused these deaths. The government and their media allies told the world so many lies during this time, that is was hard for many to believe anything that came out of their collective, warmonger mouths. Looking back, though, even half that many child deaths, due to these horrific sanctions, is too many.

Since Trump has taken office, the amount of sanctions on various self-governing states is quite astonishing. Trump doubled down on Russia, pushing certain oligarchs out of oil deals, and threatening other countries, allies in fact, from doing any business with Russia. For certain, Trump's regime has tripled sanctions on Iran. He not only pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, but has essentially blocked any trade with Iran, including Iran's trade with other countries, threatening US allies from doing so. This amounts to a blockade, a War Crime, per International Law.

Now this brings us to Venezuela. Particularly over the last 10 years, both the Obama administration and Trump's regime, like Iran, have all but put a trade blockade on said country. If one reads actual investigative journalist, know that Venezuela is not in dire straights, lacking even toothbrushes or deodorant. In reality, Venezuela is doing quite well under the circumstances. That said, the trade blockades that the western world has put upon this country, is almost breathtaking in its scope. Our Right wing pundits would have you believe Maduro is a dictator, punishing his own people. On the contrary, it is the severity of economic sanctions on the country that is really causing their economic woes. It is not socialism that is the bad guy, but the military Industrial Complex, along with the corporate oil Czars, who are imposing suffering on the Venezuelan people, for greed, oil and the bottom line. *$*

Economic sanctions is a tool of war.

To listen to the arrogant and ignorant American president brag about imposing even harsher economic sanctions on Venezuela, in truth, is a further act of war on a sovereign state. These further, harsher sanctions are essentially blockades of all trade with said country. These blockades, as mentioned above, are WAR CRIMES.

Trump has thrown around the “sanction” word to the media and his “holy-roll- rallies” like its nothing, something the US does to their “enemies”. He knows nothing of geography, let alone foreign policy. So some neocon sociopath has been whispering in his ear. Go figure.

Trump has used sanctions as his go to foreign policy. Rather than diplomacy its sanctions. Rather than telling the truth, its lies at the *expense of human beings*. He doesn't care.

Economic sanctions are a tool of war. Blockades are a War Crime.

And the US in present time, are doing both.