Iran Sanctions: Trump v Harris

 There are excellent reasons for opposing sanctions on any country:

  • They are a collective punishment that affects ordinary people far more than it affects the government officials who make the policies the US objects to. 
  • Sanctions often lead to undernutrition and a lack of necessary medical supplies.
  • There is little proof that sanctions achieve meaningful goals.
    • The US has imposed sanctions on Cuba for decades. The truly oppressive and awful Cuban government remains in power.
    • Sanctions against Iraq led to at least 350 thousand deaths of children. [Figures for child deaths due to sanctions against Iraq vary greatly from a low of 67 thousand children age 5 and under to a high of 525 thousand. I have chosen a figure in the middle.] Children who lost limbs during the 2003 invasion had to endure soul-searing pain without pain relief because of US sanctions.
    • With the exception of South Africa, sanctions appear not to effect a change in government. South Africa also had other factors in addition to sanctions that led to the change. 
During his first term, Trump had been a staunch supporter of sanctions against Iran. One benefit of the Biden administration was its attempts to ease the sanctions against Iran. 

Is the Iranian government tyrannical? Yes. On the other hand, that government is opposed actively by a substantial number of its citizens. The US government should not be taking steps to make their lives harder. 

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