Sanctions Can Be Tantamount to a Declaration of War

(Before It's News)

Economic sanctions issued to prevent war or deter what are regarded as bad regimes often lead to war. Leaders of today should learn their history. In August 1941 the United States of America issued sanctions against Japan. Japan had been fighting in China and the Far East and had embargoed war supplies from the US into China. In retaliation the US embargoed all oil exports to Japan (who had at that stage only six months to two years stock left depending on whether you accept conservative or liberal estimates) and blocked all US credit and capital to Japan. A year earlier the US had closed the Panama Canal to Japanese Shipping and embargoed the sale of iron and scrap iron to Japan.

At that stage the US was the world’s most powerful nation, and understandably the Japanese felt that this embargo was all but a declaration of war by the US. It was no accident that Pearl Harbour happened just a few months after the economic sanctions were implemented. Some historians regard the cause of Pearl Harbour as the sanctions issued by the USA. Others regard the start of the war between Japan and the USA as being August 1941, when the final sanctions were imposed, rather than December 1941.

Today there are all kinds of nations imposing economic sanctions against smaller nations. Israel has embargoed Palestine, many nations have made it illegal to trade with Iran and there are embargoes in force against Syria. It is no accident that wars and Armed conflict have followed and ironic that the sanctions were designed to prevent wars and armed conflicts.

Sometimes when you try to damage a nation economically the sanctioned nation has no choice but the attempt to break the sanctions by war, armed conflict or terrorism. They are pushed into taking the view that they have nothing to lose.

Filed under: climate change Tagged: 1941, cause of Pearl Harbour, declaration of war, economic sanctions, pearl harbour, sanctions, sanctions against Japan by USA, war

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