Quote:
Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl
I've said it before and I'll say it again; Trading with a nation is one of the surest ways to make it completely non-threatening. Even a die-hard.... insane Islamic theocracy like Iran cannot stand for long against the quality of life that free trade brings. Free trade creates wealth. Wealth creates independence, education, secularism, generosity, etc. etc. In short, common people who have access to a good quality of life and an reasonable ability to advance themselves will not bother with idiotic extremist ideology, and they will not support a theocratic power structure. They'll become Islamic laxtremists.
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Please keep saying it. it needs to be said.
Have sanctions EVER worked? Has any sovereign nation ever changed solely due to sanctions? Even the commonly touted South Africa example is not exactly conclusive. The instances where sanctions have failed seem to be more numerous than instances where they have been successful.
It used to be said that democracies don't declare war on each other. I like to think that capitalistic economies don't declare war on each other.
One thing the United States needs to avoid is placing any country in a position where they have "nothing to lose".