Sanctions (Mobil's Ad in WP)

[Zingmoe@xxxxxxx]

Dear Netizens,

As tensions keep rising in Burma, while the dead-line "August 21" is
approaching, the United States, offering its economic largesse aftermath
of the collapse of the "Asian Currencies", and its traditional allies are
stepping
up to take stronger actions against Burma. ( I use "Burma" at this point,
instead of SPDC, because of the nature of political ramifications)

Possible actions----
         - Global economic sanctions
         - UN peacekeeping and peacemaking ( e.g. UN Advance Mission in
            Cambodia and/or UN Transition Authority in Cambodia, UN Protection
            Force, i.e. UNPROFOR in Yugoslavia)

It is terribly important that we should be well aware of the pros and cons of
the 
possible operations.  As we all know that our ultimate concern is the best
interests of our people.  For that purpose only, I sincerely present excerpts
from the Mobil's ad in today's Washington Post (Sunday, August 2, 1998 C5) to
you.

"Sanctions: a fresh wind blowing"

"Old habits--like imposing economic sanctions on nations whose policies and 
practices we don't like at the drop of a hat--die hard. We are encouraged that
the Administration and Congress are beginning to question the unilateral
sanctions habit.....Since the end of the Cold War, the popularity and
proliferation
of sanctions have grown at an alarming rate. Currently, the U.S. has gone it
alone, imposing unilateral sanctions on 70 nations, representing two-thirds of
the world's population.....When the U.S. acts alone, sanctions usually fall
far short of their goal and frequently produce unintended, adverse
consequences.
Unilateral sanctions may hobble the very citizens they're intended to
help....Policymakers' discomfort with sanctions has been building.  Earlier
this year, Under-secretary of State, Stuart Eisenstadt, announced the State
Department was "reviewing the use of this controversial tool" in an attempt to
develop guidelines for considering sanctions. The President has criticized the
"automatic" feature of U.S. sanctions laws,..Lawmakers from both sides of the 
aisle are also concerned. Here 's what several are saying: "In many cases,
unilateral sanctions are well-intentioned, but impotent (creating) the
illusion of
U.S. action. In the worst cases, (sanctions) actually undermine U.S. interests
in the world." Senator Lugar (R).  "We need to be examining more alternatives
to sanctions....The engagement with other nations, rather than isolation, is a
 ...
a direction we need to pursue." Senator Johnson (D)   
"The Lugar-Hamilton-Crane approach focuses on the future use of sanctions,
but it does not address the troubling problems that existing sanctions have 
created"....."The Congress should re-evaluate current sanctions with an eye
to eliminating those that put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage, tarnish
our national reputation and unwittingly harm ordinary citizens of sanctioned
countries."
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