JRL NEWSWATCH: “[Re: Sanctions]”- Andrew Kuchins

Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

(Andrew Kuchins, Senior Fellow, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES), Georgetown University – Facebook – September 21, 2018)

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“There are so many things wrong about sanctions, and Doug Bandow captures many here. The biggest problem is their effectiveness depends on US dollar hegemony of global financial system. That asset is slowly eroding over time with rapid growth of large and medium sized emerging economies; it will erode faster as more and more countries will seek to diminish their vulnerability. The “debate” now about further sanctions on Russia is especially vapid as virtually nobody talks really about what the goal is and whether they are effective in pursuing it. Those claiming they weaken Putin’s power are entirely wrong. They help him and his cronies consolidate more power over huge revenue flows. They lead Russian wealthy to bring back money to Russia out of fear. There is also a myriad of ways how they hurt US businesses and those of our closest allies. And the notion du jour of ‘smart sanctions’ is an oxymoron.”
 
[then links to:]
 
The American Conservative: “Washington’s Endless Sanctions Are Finally Backfiring; They’ve always been ineffective. What’s different now is that they’re threatening to undermine American strength”
theamericanconservative.com/articles/washingtons-endless-sanctions-are-finally-backfiring/

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