A fine (if rare) example of an American getting it right while Europe get’s it very wrong…

…”Economic sanctions do not work at changing governments, but they are good at hitting ordinary people, vividly demonstrated by the humanitarian crisis in Iraq brought on by Saddam Hussein’s indifference to his people’s suffering. Sanctions have also failed to remove Fidel Castro in Cuba and helped to spawn a thriving black market in the Balkans that served only to foster instability and benefit dubious power groupings.

As Russia has made plain through its open support of President Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is to remain within its sphere of influence. Any attempt to impose economic hardship on Belarus by the West is certain to be amply compensated for by Moscow, which already heavily subsidizes gas supplies to that country. Therefore, economic sanctions against Belarus would only preserve the political status quo, even strengthen it, ensuring that Belarus was as dependent economically on Russia as the Lukashenko regime is dependent on it for political support…”

The full article is here