Abstract

As Cold War threats have diminished, so-called weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and ballistic missiles - have become the new international bugbears. The irony is that the harm caused by these weapons pales in comparison to the havoc wreaked by a much more popular tool: economic sanctions. Tally up the casualties caused by rogue states, terrorists, and unconventional weapons, and the number is surprisingly small. The same cannot be said for deaths inflicted by international sanctions. The math is sobering and should lead the US to reconsider its current policy of strangling Iraq.