When I say that Turkey is openly defying U.S. sanctions, I don't mean it in one particular way.
I mean that Turkey is defying U.S. sanctions in four different ways.
It appears that Turkey is intentionally antagonizing Washington. As if they are daring Washington to do something about it.
In theory, sanctions are a non-violent method of persuasion. That is not what is happening in Syria.
The U.S. has been squeezing the Russian oil and gas industry since 2014.
The Trump Administration made it perfectly clear: no more waivers on Iranian sanctions. No exceptions.
Rep. Ilhan Omar is in trouble again for telling the truth.
Just as in interventions past, those who oppose war are labeled supporters of dictators and haters of “freedom.”
We saw this playbook in Iraq.
The Trump Administration has decided to fully enforce our unilateral sanctions against buying Iranian oil.
Russia completed a major new gas pipeline this week.
Relations between Washington and Berlin have gotten cool in recent years, and yesterday Berlin had to assert it's independence from the U.S.
Daniel Larison's writing on Venezuela may have been discussed here previously and I may have missed the discussion, but I just want to point to the humane nature of conservative communities we can relate to.
From our friends at The American Conservative:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/our-venezuela-policy-tos...
The Washington political establishment appears to be ready to do something that can't be undone. Once you sanction your allies either they fold, or they stop being allies.
Venezuela only has one big export - oil - and almost no one willing to risk American sanctions in order to buy it. Europe won't defy us, and neither will much of Latin America.
But one nation you probably don't think about will dare to risk sanctions.
This is the exact situation any sane politician/diplomat will have wanted to avoid.
You never want to be in a position of sanctioning your allies, but that's what happens when you ignore them.
In September Turkey decided to buy a Russian S-400 missile system in defiance of U.S. sanction threats.
The threats remain, but the sanctions never happened.
It appears that India is falling out of Washington's sphere of influence.
When it comes to being smart about picking fights, the Trump Administration fails in spectacular fashion.
