单选题 Throughout most of modern history, economic
sanctions have preceded or {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}war, often
in the form of a naval {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}intended to
weaken the enemy. {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}when the horrors of
World War I prompted President Woodrow Wilson to call for an alternative
{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}armed conflict were economic
sanctions seriously considered. (Wilson claimed that, {{U}} {{U}}
5 {{/U}} {{/U}}themselves, sanctions could be a "deadly force" and a
very effective diplomatic tool.) Sanctions were subsequently {{U}} {{U}}
6 {{/U}} {{/U}}as a tool of enforcement in each of the two {{U}}
{{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}security systems established in this
century—the League of Nations between the two world wars and the United Nations
after World War II. Following the {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}of
the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, the U.N. Security Council
frequently {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}sanctions to quell civil
wars and national strife, especially in Africa and Yugoslavia. However, the
highest-{{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}U.N. sanctions were those
against Iraq (1990-2003) preceding and following the first Gulf War (1991).
{{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}U.N. sanctions, major powers
({{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}the US) continue to deploy
unilateral economic sanctions. Since 1990, "{{U}} {{U}} 13
{{/U}} {{/U}}sanctions"—aimed at political leaders, drug lords, and
terrorists—frequently have been used in an attempt to avoid the {{U}}
{{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}fallout resulting from broad-brush sanctions.
World leaders often decide that the obvious {{U}} {{U}} 15
{{/U}} {{/U}}to economic sanctions are unsatisfactory; military action would
be too massive, and diplomatic protest too {{U}} {{U}} 16
{{/U}} {{/U}}. Sanctions can provide a satisfying {{U}} {{U}} 17
{{/U}} {{/U}}display, yet avoid the high costs of war. This is not {{U}}
{{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}that sanctions are costless, just {{U}}
{{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}they are often less costly than the
alternatives. In fact, the decade-long comprehensive sanctions regime against
Iraq {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}considerable political
backlash.