December 16, 1999
Web posted at: 2:59 p.m. EST (1959 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan said Thursday that the U.S. policy of imposing sanctions against so-called rogue nations is "unrighteous" and immoral," and that his first act as president would be to lift sanctions put in place by the Clinton Administration on nearly 65 countries.

"After seven years it's clear the Clinton Administration has yet to find the right formula of dealing with rogue nations," Buchanan said. "Sanctions have become the feel-good policy of the self-righteous."

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Buchanan said that not only do sanctions not work -- they have failed to dislodge hostile regimes in Iran, Iraq, Libya or Serbia -- but they create new enemies.

"What do Arabs think of us when U.S. sanctions bring death to thousands of Iraqi children every month?" he asked.

Over the protests of its NATO allies, the U.S. tends toward sanctions in instances where military intervention may be warranted, he asserted. The practice of imposing sanctions "may fairly be called America's weapon, a silent weapon of mass destruction. They almost always prey on the weak, the sick, the women and the young," Buchanan said.

Contrary to their intended affect, he said that sanctions often strengthen the power of dictators and spawn black markets and gangster elites. "Isolation has helped Milosevic and Saddam Hussein stoke paranoia," said Buchanan.

He said that instead, sanctions should only be used as a last resort when other means to negotiate peace have been exhausted. They should be considered an act of war and as such, should be imposed only on regimes that engage in hostile acts against the U.S.

"Sanctions have become a way for the United States to vent its anger on the cheap without risking the lives of the armed forces," Buchanan said.

Citing his foreign policy experience in the Nixon and Reagan administrations, Buchanan said he realized that merely lifting sanctions would not resolve U.S. conflict with so-called rogue nations, and wouldn't rule out ever imposing them himself if elected president. But he vowed to impose only economic sanctions -- placing tariffs on imports, denying export-import bank credits, and refusing landing rights to national airlines -- that would not result in starvation and death for innocent people.

"No one has deputized America to play Wyatt Earp against the world," he said.

Thursday, December 16, 1999

• A year after Clinton impeachment, public approval grows of House decision
• Bradley, McCain converge in New Hampshire to swear off soft money
• Lewinsky testifies in Tripp wiretap hearing
• Buchanan vows to lift sanctions against 'rogue' nations
• Stuart Rothenberg analysis: The Iowa GOP debate
• Interstate aesthetics: Ohio's debate over overpasses
• Israel, Syria aim for peace accord next year
• Huang denies link between Hubbell payment, appointment
• Judge recommends plan to spare prison time for Whitewater defendant
• Bush urged by congressional leaders to reveal census stance
• Senator says borrowers get trapped by high-interest 'payday loans'
• FEC approves matching funds for Buchanan

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