American Sanctions Towards M.I Countries

Whenever America was threatened by a Middle Eastern country America pressured that country into submission.One method America uses to pressure countries are by imposing sanctions. The effects of sanctions have varying degree of effects in different countries and in different areas of these countries. Two of the most recent American sanctions whose effects have been studied are the sanctions against Iraq and Iran.

Iraqi Sanctions

Pressure Iraq into complying to end the programs to create weapons of mass destruction.

Death of half a million Iraq Children due to not Iraq sanctioning causing a paucity in medicine and medical equipment.
When asked on US television if she [Madeline Albright, US Secretary of State] thought that the death of half a million Iraqi children [from sanctions in Iraq] was a price worth paying, Albright replied: “This is a very hard choice, but we think the price is worth it(Globalissues.org).”

Direct Effects
Decreased Imports
Medicines
Food Imports
Agricultural Inputs - fertilizer, pesticides, spare parts
Industrial/Commercial

Decreased Exports
Impact on export earnings, access to foreign currency, etc.


Short Term Effects
Deterioration in health status;
Increased: Morbidity and mortality (esp. child),Maternal and perinatal [sic] mortality,
Low-birth-weight babies, Infectious diseases, Epidemics, Malnutrition;
Deterioration in water quantity and quality;
Deterioration in health services;
Decrease in available medicines, vaccines laboratory and diagnostic tests;
Breakdown of medical, Xray, lab equipments.

Economics
Decreased export earnings;
Decreased trade leading to closure of business and industry;
Inflation;
Unemployment;

Long Term Effects
Reduction in the overall (general) health status of the population
Deterioration in health services and diminished [sic] national capacity to provide care;
Loss of previous gains in preventive and curative care services;
Resurgence of illness and disease associated with poverty (e.g. epidemics, infectious disease)

Economic
Chronically decreased economic activity;
Decline in revenue from all sources;
Decline in GDP, GNP, per capital income;
Loss of trade partners, regional/international trade interests;
Chronically high unemployment
Collapse of public and private infrastructure
Decline in public education.

Source(Especially the effects of the sanctions are derived from the website: http://www.globalissues.org/article/105/effects-of-sanctions which also sourced the info to The Impact of Sanctions: A Study of UNICEF’s Perspective, Table 3, Eric Hoskins, MD Consultant, UNICEF New York February 1998)