Citations Needed "Shadow Fleets," Sanctions & Western Media's International Law-ification of Arbitrary US Dictates
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Mar 11, 2026 Maryam Jamshidi, associate professor of law who studies international law and sanctions, joins to unpack how U.S. unilateral sanctions are dressed up as global law. She discusses media framing that criminalizes routine trade, the rise of “shadow fleet” rhetoric, asset freezes and seizures, and how legal language normalizes coercive U.S. power. Short, sharp, and critical takes on law, media, and empire.
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Sanctions Operate Like Siege Warfare
- Sanctions function as a modern form of siege warfare that target whole populations, not just officials.
- Adam Johnson cites studies showing sanctions collapse economies and cause shortages of food and medicine, with millions of excess deaths.
Kennedy Era Memo Used Starvation As Policy
- The 1962 U.S. embargo on Cuba was explicitly meant to create hunger and weaken internal support for Castro.
- Hosts quote a 1960 State Department memo urging denial of money and supplies to bring about hunger and overthrow.
Reporting Casts Legal Trade As Dodging U.S. Rules
- Historic reporting labeled legal trade as 'artful dodging' simply because it bypassed U.S. export controls.
- The AP's 1980 coverage of Dubai traders implied illegality despite acknowledging no clear law forbidding resale to Iran.