After the disasters in Iraq & Afghanistan, US presidents became more & more determined to minimize negativity publicity of American troops abroad But how to still 1) look "tough" on foreign bad guys; 2) keep US troops out of harms way; 3) do something? Big part of the answer:

Here's a partial list of all countries under some form of US sanctions, with an (somewhat admittedly/inherently subjective) attempt to categorize by severity:

NEW: THE STAGGERING RISE OF AMERICA'S GLOBAL ECONOMIC WARFARE 1st in a series @federicacocco & I found: 1. ~1/3 of all nations on Earth now face some form of US sanctions. Huge increase from when mostly applied to Cuba & a handful of regimes 2. +*60%* of *all poor countries* are under US sanctions of some kind. Has become almost a reflex of US foreign policy 3. Sanctions have spawned multi-billion-dollar lobbying & influence industry, enriching former US officials who are hired by foreign countries & oligarchs 4. Sanctions have had devastating effects on innocent civilians. In Cuba, they've made critical medical supplies impossible to import. In Venezuela, they contributed to a financial collapse 3X greater than the US Great Depression. Syria faces its greatest humanitarian crisis this year after a decade civil war & sanctions. 5. Treasury staffers drafted a ~40 page plan aimed at reforming the sanctions process that was dramatically whittled down amid disagreements w/ State 6. OFAC is widely described as overwhelmed by tens of thousands of requests. WH officials have brainstormed sanctions scenarios w/ outside nonprofits 7. Biden has unleashed unprecedented volley of +6K sanctions in 2 years. Higher than even previously unprecedented rate of Trump. “We don’t think about the collateral damage of sanctions the same way we think about the collateral damage of war ... But we should.” More to come. Read our first story here: washingtonpost.com/business/…