The real victims- the effect of economic sanctions in Iran

Almost lost amongst the endless lies and propaganda, we have to remember the real victims of foreign policy against nations targeted for regime change, namely the people living in those countries.

original.antiwar.com...

The U.S. and Israel have launched cyber attacks, assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists, and supported armed ethnic groups that carry out terrorist operations inside Iran, killing innocent people. In addition, Israel has been active in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in the Republic of Azerbaijan, encouraging and supporting small separatist movements among Iranian ethnic groups, such as the Kurds and Azeris.

But the most devastating part of the undeclared war on Iran is the tough economic sanctions that the U.S. and its allies in the European Union (EU) have imposed on Iran.

The most vulnerable members of Iranian society, namely, millions of ordinary Iranians, have suffered the most. Not only have they been hurt badly by the sanctions, but tens of thousands of them, if not more, will also lose their lives if the sanctions continue, even without being tightened further.

An area that has been particularly hit hard is the pharmaceutical sector

The sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Iran’s banks and other financial institutions have made importing necessary drugs and medical instruments almost impossible. At the same time, as Iran’s oil exports continue to decrease because of the sanctions, the financial resources of the nation become increasingly strained, making it more difficult to pay for expensive drugs, even if a way can be found to import them. As a result, the shortage of drugs will soon become a catastrophe if not addressed.

Considering that over the last year economic sanctions against Iran have been tightened and that sanctions against Iran’s financial institutions went into effect only over the last few months, the above statistics must be seen as preliminary. As the sanctions drag on and the West tries to dry up all of Iran’s earnings from oil, not only will the drug shortage kill a large number of Iranians, but shortages of food and other important products may also become significant. When the West imposed economic sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s, a very large number of Iraqi children lost their lives as a result. The most reliable estimate of the number of dead, provided by UNICEF, put it around 500,000. Given that Iran’s population is three times that of Iraq, if the sanctions imposed on Iran last several years, the number of dead could be much higher than in Iraq.

But the emerging catastrophe will be an ethical and moral problem for the West for decades to come, a catastrophe that is being created simply because the West blindly pursues crippling sanctions on Iran in order to stop a nonexistent nuclear weapons program at the urging of the War Party in the U.S. and its Israeli allies.

If a foreign nation withheld your medicine, caused food bills to soar to unaffordable levels, brought your economy to it's knees, threatened bombing you and surrounding you with armies to stop you developing nuclear energy, would you see them as 'good'?

Is it any wonder America is viewed as it is in the middle east? After what America and her allies do to the people of these countries, real people like you and me.

As this war approaches, I just wish more people would see the truth and the suffering that those manipulating our governments into these wars create for the world.

We sit at home all cosy and secure whilst bombs drop in foreign lands to make an elite richer.

This isn't an attack on the American people, in the words of Gaddafi (which is fitting in the lead up to the Iran war given what happened to Libya not too long ago)-

Americans are good people. They have no aggressions against us and they like us as we like them. They must know I don't hate them. I love them.… I hear it is a complex society inside. Many Americans don't know about the outside world. The majority have no concern and no information about other people. They could not even find Africa on a map. I think Americans are good, but America will be taken over and destroyed from the inside by the Zionist lobby. The Americans do not see this. They are getting decadent. Zionists will use this to destroy them.

Wake up to the reality. There is nothing you can do now, but when the agenda takes hold, we will all have choices to make. And knowing the truth will help us when that time comes.

Economic sanctions are an act of war.

IF another nation attempted to create a situation where the US could not export or import items to and from the world stage they would IMMEDIATELY start a war with that nation.

There would be no talking about it, no diplomatic associations. Just all out war.

So for them to do this to Iran and claim they are not at war is nonsense. This is financial terrorism and it doesn't hurt the government and those who make decisions regarding Iranian policy, it only hurts the innocent.

~Tenth

reply to post by Wonderer2012


This really is an extremely concerning situation, all the more so because there is so little coverage of it in msm. In fact if I sourced all of my information solely from msm I don't even think I'd be aware this was going on at all.

What sickens me all the more is that I don't believe there is any plan to actually take Iran by force. I think they plan a long war of attrition - and for what? According to the Pentagon's own intelligence reports Iran poses no threat whatsoever to anybody outside its own borders.



Sure I don't like the idea of living under that regime but, as Libya has demonstrated, change has to come from within. Imposing regime change is fascism.

Originally posted by christina-66
reply to post by Wonderer2012

 

This really is an extremely concerning situation, all the more so because there is so little coverage of it in msm. In fact if I sourced all of my information solely from msm I don't even think I'd be aware this was going on at all.

What sickens me all the more is that I don't believe there is any plan to actually take Iran by force. I think they plan a long war of attrition - and for what? According to the Pentagon's own intelligence reports Iran poses no threat whatsoever to anybody outside its own borders.

Sure I don't like the idea of living under that regime but, as Libya has demonstrated, change has to come from within. Imposing regime change is fascism.

Well I've done a lot of research on this, check my thread on 'why are you ignoring what is in front of you?' to see that a regime change from within cannot happen in 21st century Iran.

The foreign policy think tanks have admitted military action is the only way to take down the regime.

The document says that what worked in 1953 (the coup) would not work today because the current leadership is far too strong to be taken over that way- they have too much control in too many areas- they are too embedded and have too much support to be taken down internally.

We'll see the sanctions continue and cyber attacks etc, but in the end, it will have to come down to military action- and there is a good chance Israel will get the ball rolling.

It's just a waiting game for 'something' to happen to justify it- the 'green light' as it were.

I don't have the time to find the quotes but it is in my signature in that thread, just search the document to see it for yourself.

((PS I agree Iran is no threat to America, but sadly that is the lie that has to be sold, well it has been sold because NDAA 2013 legislation admits that to be the case as they see Iran as one of the biggest national security threats- the Zionists worked overtime to convince Congress)),

reply to post by Wonderer2012


'The planned invasion of Iraq is nothing more than the premeditated murder of thousands of people in the name of saving them from their dictator.'

Unfortunately I can't remember who the above quotation should be attributed to but you might understand why I remember the quote itself.

Really, the sooner the USA returns to an isolationist policy the better it will be for the rest of the world.

Prior to the 'Arab Spring' the Iranian people did in fact attempts to revolt against their regime and they were brutally repressed. That doesn't mean their desire for change has vanished. The only way to truly change Iran is from within - anything else will be seen for what it is.

I'm in the UK and the information we receive on our government's foreign adventures is almost as poor as the information received by citizens of the US. However, it is in the interest of many countries on this planet to ensure that their citizens are fully conversant with the ways and means of international politics. Any of the games outlined in your other thread will be recognised for what they are with the result that any change in Iran affected by anything other than their own people will be chronically unstable and unsafe - particularly for those living in Israel.

In the full length vid of the Chomsky talk I posted he makes clear that the desire for regime change in Iran comes from the Zionist lobby. That Iran's military policy is one of defence and deterrent. That Iran's failure to clarify the situation on its nuclear strategy is part of its deterrent policy. Chomsky explains that as most Israeli citizens actually hold dual nationality - the mere thought that Iran had nuclear weapon capabilities would be enough to send half Israel';s population scurrying back to their country of origin.

When will the US ever learn? Both Afghanistan and Iraq have to be added to its long list of military failures since WWII. Israel will not strike Iran first. Iran is NOT an impoverished Afghanistan - nor is it a war weary Iraq which had been suffering 10 years of sanctions to grind that country down before it was struck a second time. Sanctions which banned the import of products to help it rebuild its sanitation system (biological warfare) and which saw its soldiers attempt to defend its borders wearing flip flops. Iran has been preparing for just what you describe.

Israel will not strike Iran first they are too scared of frightening their own citizens out of the country. And on top of that - Iran does have some pretty powerful allies - it does not stand alone.