Iranian sanctions

[PanzerJaeger]

Sarmation is correct. Sanctions are essentially state sponsored terrorism, and are usually much more damaging to a much larger group of people than the more violent kind we usually associate with the term. The mental contortions some of you are going through to say that they are not terrorism just reinforces that they are.

We in the West need to learn to disassociate our geopolitical actions from morality. There is no good and bad or right and wrong in the global arena, only power. And the overarching criterion for the use of that power should be a rational assessment of the impact that it will have on our short and long term interests.

I support the sanctions against Iran not because I think we are right and they are wrong, but because Iran has challenged our hegemony in the Middle East and aligned itself against our proxies in the region. Global politics is a zero sum game - if you are not winning you are losing; if you are not protecting and growing your power and influence, someone else is gaining it.

In other words, the big terrorist attacks in the US have been independent of US policy actions.

Do you believe this?