And besides, the companies who want to sell to Russia will work deals through straw buyers, etc. — just the way Dick Cheney did with Halliburton and Iraq. Poor people suffered, but it didn’t do squat to Saddam Hussein. Seems like sanctions are just political theater to make it look like we’re “doing something”:
The introduction of newly-enhanced US and EU sanctions against Russia, which have now targeted its most important financial institutions and several of its most important energy companies, has compelled some journalists to wonder whether or not its economy is “on the verge of collapse.” Others have started to openly speculate aboutwho would replace Putin in the event that the government collapses or in the event that he is driven from power in a palace coup. These criticisms fold nicely into those delivered by Barack Obama: Russia is a country that doesn’t make anything, that doesn’t support entrepreneurs, and that, quite simply, is place where no one wants to live. Russia, in other words, is doomed.
As someone who has been extremely critical of Russia’s recent policies, I can understand why some of these criticisms are being voiced. It genuinely does seem that, over the past five months, Russia has regressed: it has not only waged a hyper aggressive, Soviet-style, information war against the “Kiev fascists,” it has openly annexed the territory of a neighboring state and subsequently supported separatist forces waging war against its central government. One can both sympathize with Russian interests in Ukraine and criticize the Ukrainian government while also noting that using the military to seize territory is completely and totally unjustifiable.*
Considering the recent trajectory of Russian foreign policy, it’s easy to see why many people want it to “pay a price.” There is a very significant difference, however, between wanting Russia’s economy to suffer and it actually suffering. And while the recent results haven’t been great, they haven’t been catastrophic either.
Putin will change only when Russia’s 1% begin to be affected.
Russia doesn’t want NATO troops and military hardware stationed all along its western border. Can you blame them? We didn’t like it much when the Russians put a few dozen missiles pointed at us in Cuba. Hell, Kennedy almost started WW 3 over that move. The world is a rather simple place to operate in as long as you’re not trying to screw with everybody. Since the end of WW2 the US has been screwing with everybody. And we see the blowback all around us. The people who are running our foreign policy are intellectual midgets. They still believe that “might makes right” and that “peace through strength” is the only way to operate. They are wrong. These people are the warmongers. If we allow them to remain in charge of our foreign policy the condition of the world will continue to deteriorate.