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US Foreign Policy - Bribery, Sanctions and Bombs
by Joseph Clifford via judd - ICH Tuesday, Apr 14 2015, 2:27am
international / prose / post

The very few tools in the US tool-bag

There is nothing complex about primitive, rustic brutes. With its ability to print the world default currency, the US uses its printing presses to bribe and buy national leaders wherever, particularly Eastern Europe and Central Asia, that means is likely to succeed. In the case of resource rich undeveloped nations with independent leaders, buying amenability proves impossible so the US resorts to outright intimidation with economic and other sanctions, embargos and bombs. Not very sophisticated and civilised to say the least, notwithstanding the criminal aspects of this behaviour. It is quite striking to note that China, which has far greater needs than the US, relies on good international relations and business to procure its resource and other needs, how thoroughly civilised and legal - everybody wins.

The result of US foreign policy

The US has become the bully on the block and seemingly has few weapons to use in forcing people to accept its will: one is bombs and the other is harsh economic sanctions. Economic sanctions can easily prove worse than bombs, because they do not discriminate and target the innocent. For over 50 years we imposed harsh economic sanctions on the people of Cuba, and for 50 years the "people" of Cuba were deprived of necessities and suffered. We recently relented, but repeatedly during the 50-year sanction period, the rest of the world begged us, and overwhelmingly voted in the UN every year, to have the US remove its sanctions. We ignored the world's pleas, and for 50 years defied the entire world in punishing the people of Cuba for daring to be independent.

Iraq's people became a target of the most brutal sanctions the world has ever seen, and some estimate that over the years at least one million civilians died because of the sanctions. Most of the casualties were the aged or the very young, always the most vulnerable. Many younger readers might not recall the then Secretary of State, in a 60 Minutes TV interview be asked: We hear there are as many as 600,000 children have died because of the sanctions; do you think it is worth it? Madame Albright, the Secretary of State, coldly answered: Yes. Tragically Iraq got the one-two treatment; first the sanctions, then bombs in the form of "Shock and Awe." Four consecutive Presidents bombed Iraq, which today is the site of the 21st century's first human holocaust.

We imposed sanctions on Venezuela because we did not like the person they repeatedly elected, and because he "nationalized' the oil companies and used the money to improve the lot of the very poor in his country, his people were punished with sanctions; the US also assisted those trying in vain to overthrow the legitimate government - the US failed because the people rallied to defend their leader.

We have sanctions against the people of Iran because we suspect that Iran may develop a nuclear weapon, this draconian action despite overwhelming evidence by all intelligence agencies that no such program exists. Now we have the framework for a treaty that would ensure there will be no such program in Iran, but many neocon Republicans and Democrats are opposing lifting the sanctions. To add to this calamity, both Israel and the US have repeatedly advocated the possibility of attacking and bombing Iran. Wacko wannabe President, Senator Tom Cotton, said we should bomb Iran, and it would only take "several days" to win - remember Paul Wolfowitz's widely quoted "cakewalk" regarding the illegal Iraq invasion?

The US has imposed sanctions on 19 current nations despite the fact they only punish innocents, furthermore, there is no historical evidence to suggest sanctions work. They are simply a means to sadistically punish the innocent. According to historian Andrew Becevich, the US has bombed 14 nations in the Middle East since 1980, which probably establishes a new world record for dropping bombs in rapid succession on sovereign nations.

An interesting comparison between methods used by the US and China is illuminating. While we use drones to kill people in Pakistan on a regular basis, causing a great deal of anti-US resentment in the process, China has just announced that it will pay for, and build, a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan. Some readers might know Pakistan is energy starved and desperately needs gas; however, because the US had sanctions on Iran, we prevented anyone from building the much-needed pipeline for years. While the US uses bombs and sanctions to punish Pakistan, China has finally stepped up to say they will pay for and build a desperately needed pipeline to Pakistan, despite US sanctions. Who is winning the hearts and minds of the Pakistanis and Iranians?

Last month puppet president Obama called Venezuela "a threat to US national security", and we have sanctions on their struggling economy in an attempt to bring down their government, while China just announced a 10-billion-dollar loan to Venezuela in an attempt to help their economy. Who is winning the hearts and minds of the Venezuelan people?

While the US is imposing sanctions and bombing countries, China is quietly signing construction projects around the world, building roads, power plants, developing oil fields, and even a new canal that would travel 172 miles through Nicaragua.

Critics of the Chinese policy suggest the projects have Chinese self-interest at heart, but the same can be said of all US sanctions and bombings. China's construction projects, while in part are self-serving, they also serve the interests of the people involved; while sanctions and bombs only serve the interests of a few corporations. China builds while the US puppet government only brings death to the people of the countries we bomb and sanction. We needn't wonder why China is not being attacked by terrorists. Meanwhile, wherever the US implements its 'foreign policy,' the blood of innocents continues to flow.

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