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I see no reason to believe that US sanctions on Iran are intended to cause a revolt by the Iranian people. AFAIK, the US has imposed sanctions on numerous count

I see no reason to believe that US sanctions on Iran are intended to cause a revolt by the Iranian people. AFAIK, the US has imposed sanctions on numerous countries since WWII and not in a single instance has it lead to a revolution in America's favour. Another possibility is that the US simply wants to isolate its geopolitical enemies and impoverish them. As it has been doing with Cuba since Batista was overthrown. I'm not convinced US foreign policy were rational, but a possible rational explanation for US sanctions is to make an example of countries that refuse US dominance. Similar to how a gang running a protection racket punishes those who refuse to pay protection money. Regardless of why US foreign policy has deemed it necessary to starve the Iranian people, it will not lead to a revolution in America's favour. The Shah is not coming back. It will just lead to more death of Iranians.

millzlane 6y ago
I know I'm out of my league here, but it seems to me like a good thing that we sanction countries would would hand out a 10+ year jail sentence to a instagrammer for showcasing their hobby?
- emilsedgh 6y ago
  1. The regime wouldn't be this inclined to go after it's own people have they not been under this much pressure. 2. The people "really" punished are the same normal people. They are punished once by US economically and once punished by the regime morally/politically.
- Daho0n 6y ago
  You should get off your high horse and do some light reading about things like "Three strikes and you're out" and "The new Jim crow". The US is absolutely not any better. 2+ million people in jail for profit.
  - drstewart 6y ago
    Let Iran sanction the US then.
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Are US sanctions on Cuba really intended to impoverish Cuba? I would think not, because Canada, the EU and other developed countries continue to trade with Cuba (and send holidaymakers there) and it has been decades since the US tried to put any real pressure on its allies to isolate Cuba. Rather, I would suspect that the real aim of America’s Cuba policy is to appeal to the Cuban-exile demographic, which has a powerful lobby and can deliver votes to politicians in favor of the status quo.
jariel 6y ago
"the US has imposed sanctions on numerous countries since WWII and not in a single instance has it lead to a revolution in America's favour." ? US sanctions against Iran actually did lead to a 'win' for the US in the first round. It's the expansion of those sanctions that has caused problems. Sanctions on Russia have definitely had an effect [1]. It's hard to say exactly, only Putin knows, it's not like he'd admit it, but there's no doubt it affects his calculus. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions_during_the_Ukrainian_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions_during...

millzlane 6y ago

I know I'm out of my league here, but it seems to me like a good thing that we sanction countries would would hand out a 10+ year jail sentence to a instagrammer for showcasing their hobby?

emilsedgh 6y ago
1. The regime wouldn't be this inclined to go after it's own people have they not been under this much pressure. 2. The people "really" punished are the same normal people. They are punished once by US economically and once punished by the regime morally/politically.
Daho0n 6y ago
You should get off your high horse and do some light reading about things like "Three strikes and you're out" and "The new Jim crow". The US is absolutely not any better. 2+ million people in jail for profit.
- drstewart 6y ago
  Let Iran sanction the US then.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

Are US sanctions on Cuba really intended to impoverish Cuba? I would think not, because Canada, the EU and other developed countries continue to trade with Cuba (and send holidaymakers there) and it has been decades since the US tried to put any real pressure on its allies to isolate Cuba. Rather, I would suspect that the real aim of America’s Cuba policy is to appeal to the Cuban-exile demographic, which has a powerful lobby and can deliver votes to politicians in favor of the status quo.

jariel 6y ago

"the US has imposed sanctions on numerous countries since WWII and not in a single instance has it lead to a revolution in America's favour." ? US sanctions against Iran actually did lead to a 'win' for the US in the first round. It's the expansion of those sanctions that has caused problems. Sanctions on Russia have definitely had an effect [1]. It's hard to say exactly, only Putin knows, it's not like he'd admit it, but there's no doubt it affects his calculus. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions_during_the_Ukrainian_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions_during...