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Lifting of
Sanctions Could Be Costly To Russia
By Paul Craig
Roberts
January 27,
2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- Tweets on social media say Trump is about to lift the
sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama regime. Being a
showman, Trump would want to make this announcement
himself, not have it made for him by someone outside his
administration. Nevertheless, the social media tweets
are a good guess.
Reports are
that Trump and Putin will speak tomorrow. The
conversation cannot avoid the issue of sanctions.
Trump during
his first week has moved rapidly with his agenda. He is
unlikely to delay lifting the sanctions. Moreover, there
is no cost to Trump of lifting them. The sanctions have
no support in the US and Western business communities.
The only constitutuency for the sanctions were the
neoconservatives who are not included in the Trump
administration. Victoria Nuland, Susan Rice, Samantha
Power are gone along with much of the State Department.
So there is nothing in Trump’s way.
President Putin
is correct that the sanctions helped Russia by pushing
Russia to be more economically independent and by
pushing Russia toward developing economic relationships
with Asia. Lifting the sanctions could actualy hurt
Russia by integrating Russia into the West. The Russian
government should take note that the only sovereign
country in the West is the United States. All the rest
are US vassals. Could Russia escape the same fate?
Anyone integrated into the West is subject to
Washington’s pressure.
The problem
with the sanctions is that they are an insult to Russia.
The sanctions are based on lies that the Obama regime
told. The real purpose of the sanctions was not
economic. The purpose was to embarrass Russia as an
outlaw state and to isolate the outlaw. Trump cannot
normalize relations with Russia if he lets this insult
stand.
Therefore, the
social media tweets are likely to be correct that Trump
is about to lift the sanctions. This will be good for
US-Russian relations, but perhaps not so good for the
Russian economy and Russian sovereignty. The Western
capitalists would love to get Russia deep in debt and to
buy up Russia’s industries and raw materials. The
sanctions were a partial protection against foreign
influence over the Russian economy, and so the removal
of the sanctions is like removing a shield as well as
removing an insult.
Dr. Paul Craig
Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall
Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week,
Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He
has had many university appointments. His internet
columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts'
latest books are
The Failure of
Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the
West,
How America Was
Lost,
and
The
Neoconservative Threat to World Order.The views
expressed in this article are solely those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
Information Clearing House. |
