“American and European officials have debated whether the sanctions will end up hurting average Syrians more than the leadership. Some analysts have contended that the government may try to paint itself as a victim and court support by casting the sanctions as a contest of “us against them.”
Indeed, in the 1990s in Iraq, which was hit by comprehensive sanctions, popular anger was often directed at the United Nations and the West, not the government of Saddam Hussein. (New York Times)
Precedent poses a greater threat to headline writers.
FEE Timely Classic
“The Folly of Economic Warfare” by Doug Bandow