It did not take long for the economic illiterates and rumor-mongers to chime in on Trump’s lifting of some trivial sanctions on Russia.
Minority leader Nancy Pelosi led the way, repeating a preposterous rumor that “Russians have something on Trump”
Please consider Yanking Russian Sanctions ‘Staggeringly Dangerous’.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned Thursday that any move by the Trump administration to roll back sanctions against Russia would fray international alliances and threaten security around the globe.
The Democratic leader said even suggestions from the White House that sanctions might be scaled back could have perilous consequences for NATO and U.S. allies in Europe.
“These sanctions have to be multilateral and … the fact is, they’re necessary,” she added. “So there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to where we are on the sanctions.”
Trump churned countless headlines last week when he said he might lift sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin cooperates with U.S. anti-terror efforts.
The issue has divided the White House and congressional Republicans, with both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) backing a harder line than the new commander in chief.
“If there’s any country in the world that doesn’t deserve sanctions relief, it’s Russia,” McConnell told Politico last week.
“I’m concerned about [lifting sanctions], but as I’ve said before, I’m more concerned about what … the Russians have on Donald Trump that he’s all of a sudden flirting with the idea that he might lift those sanctions,” Pelosi said.
Trump vs. Pelosi
For starters, what’s with this “all of a sudden” nonsense. Trump has been talking about Russian sanctions for a long time.
In contrast to nonsensical rumor-mongering, Trump offered this logical position in a statement to the Wall Street Journal “If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?”
Sanctions Failure Reality
The sanctions backfired as they nearly always do. Both the US and Russia lost, with Russia losing much more.
The main loser was neither Russia nor the US, but rather the EU.
Russia was a major purchaser of fruits and vegetables from Southern Europe, and those farmers suffered badly as fruit rotted and prices plunged. Germany which exported technology to Russia, also suffered.
Finally, the sanctions caused Russians to rally around Putin. His popularity rose at home.
The sooner the sanctions come off, the better the world will be. Crimea is not going to be a part of Ukraine ever again, and arguably should not have been given to Ukraine in the first place.
It was US intervention in the region that created this mess. Chalk up another pair of lessons not learned: on meddling and on sanctions.
Another “Small Price” Action
The US paid a “small price” for the sanctions, Russia a larger price, and Europe the largest price.
By the way, Russia triggered my “Small Price to Pay” rebuttal back in 2014.
The results: Lose-Lose-Lose.
It could have been worse. The warmongers led by Senator John McCain and Hillary Clinton were itching for a major fight with Russia.
Fools like Pelosi add fat to the fire.
Related Article: Trump Eases Some Sanctions on Russia in “Technical Cleanup”: Spotlight On the Ruble.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
