US Sanctions: Starving Syria, Or Reordering Its Banks?
Syria, reeling from over a decade of brutal sanctions, is now told a partial easing of the Caesar Act could bring a 'revival' of hopes. Meanwhile, the US maintains its sanctions apparatus against 23 countries, including Cuba (since 1960), Iran (1979), and Venezuela (2005). These aren't just 'financial' measures; they starve economies, block essential medicines, and are, according to a 2021 UN
Human Rights report, a form of 'collective punishment' designed to induce regime change. So, Washington decides exactly when a nation has suffered enough under its boot to warrant tiny, calculated relief. How generous. One might wonder if the 'revival' simply means more lucrative pathways for US-approved financial institutions, rather than actual economic freedom for the Syrian people. After all,
when has a US sanctions apparatus ever truly ended without strings attached, or outright regime collapse? It's less a repeal and more a calibration of economic warfare.