22 September 1996
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Editorial

Sanctions

This week, two of the most reasonable members of Congress - Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind. - will introduce a bill to make Congress actually think about what it is doing before it legislates unilateral sanctions against foreign countries.

Under their proposal, such sanctions could be applied only if they are likely to have the desired effect, will not be costly to innocent parties, will be reviewed to see if results meet expectations, and will expire after two years unless Congress votes to extend them.

The point is that sanctions such as some of those against Cuba and Burma, and past grain embargoes against the old Soviet Union, have been born of good intentions but have had no effect on the offensive behavior of the targeted nations. Too often, sanctions make somebody or some group in this country feel leading to unnecessary ill feelings toward the United States and costing Americans more than they cost somebody else.

One current example is the rush to punish regimes that persecute various religious groups by applying economic sanctions. Most Americans might sympathize with the emotion involved - we would like for every nation to share our freedoms - but by asking the questions included in the Lugar-Hamilton bill, it looks different. Not only are the sanctions unlikely to change the behavior of, for instance, a Saudi Arabia, but those seeking the sanctions would establish a special White House office charged with monitoring religious persecution. And this in an era when government is supposed to be shrinking.

We think the Lugar-Hamilton bill is overdue, and should be adopted.

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