Increasingly, the United States and the European Union leverage their dominance in the world capitalist system to impose sanctions on other countries. Political leaders who impose these sanctions sometimes argue that sanctions are a “more humane” alternative to war. But that is not necessarily so. Sanctions are war by another name. How deadly are sanctions? A study published in one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, finds that unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. and/or the EU have caused an average of 560,000 deaths per year since 1971. That is annual, not total. The Lancet study examined sanctions imposed on a total of 152 countries for the period of 1971 to 2021. So for those 50 years, unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. and/or the EU have resulted in the premature deaths of more than 28 million people.

Increasingly, the United States and the European Union leverage their dominance in the world capitalist system to impose sanctions on other countries. Political leaders who impose these sanctions sometimes argue that sanctions are a “more humane” alternative to war. But that is not necessarily so. Sanctions are war by another name.

How deadly are sanctions? A study published in one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, finds that unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. and/or the EU have caused an average of 560,000 deaths per year since 1971. That is annual, not total. The Lancet study examined sanctions imposed on a total of 152 countries for the period of 1971 to 2021. So for those 50 years, unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. and/or the EU have resulted in the premature deaths of more than 28 million people.

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The post Sanctions Are Not Only Not an Alternative to War, They are More Deadly appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

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