From: Jonathan Davis (jonathan.davis@lineone.net)
Date: Thu Mar 04 2004 - 16:58:56 MST
Hi K,
I are to with you on both the objections you raised. I am also against
sanctions, but their use by the US against Cuba is understandable. I
personally think the sanctions should be lifted.
You are right about the trade issues, but my point about the trade disputes
was not to really debate who is right or wrong, but to point out that
self-interest drives much of the behaviour of these blocs and they all at
various times have flouted the rules and conventions.
Regards
Limbic
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com] On Behalf Of
Kharin
Sent: 04 March 2004 23:03
To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: Re:RE virus: More bush democracy
Blunderov wrote:
"Someone, it may have been Churchill, once remarked that 'War is foreign
policy by other means'."
I believe you are probably thinking of Carl Von Clausewitz:
"War is not merely a political act, but also a real political instrument, a
continuation of political commerce, a carrying out of the same by other
means. ... for the political view is the object, War is the means, and the
means must always include the object in our conception"
See: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/04spring/fleming.htm
Limbic wrote:
"The United States has sanctions against Cuba (a communist dictatorship and
long time enemy) and participated in UN sanctions against Saddam's Iraq.
Occasionally it gets into tangles with other trade blocks like the
protectionist EU, that is destroying Caribbean fruit farmers (amongst
others) and the US is trying to help. "
Hmm. For the most part, I am inclined to think that sanctions are rarely
effective and rarely humane. They have a nasty habit of penalising the
populace and leaving the elites unaffected. Unless the populace are able to
put pressure on elites, sanctions afford no reliable mechanism for regime
change (the only exception I can think of is Libya). In the case of Cuba, I
think there is a very good case to be made for the sanctions having
preserved the Castro regime.
Regarding the allegedly protectionist EU, I have noted a sequence of defeats
for the US at the WTO against complaints from many trade blocs, the EU
amongst them. I hardly think the US a bastion of free trade.
---- This message was posted by Kharin to the Virus 2004 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=61;action=display;threadid=299 85> --- To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l> --- To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Thu Mar 04 2004 - 17:01:17 MST