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The Bush administration is taking steps against the Burmese government:
US President George W Bush is to announce new sanctions against the ruling military junta in Burma, the White House has said. Mr Bush seems poised to impose a US visa ban and financial restrictions on members of the government. The move comes after eight days of increasingly popular protests against the junta led by Buddhist monks. The junta, which violently repressed protests in 1988, said it was ready to "take action" against the monks.Mr Bush is expected to announce the new restrictions during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly. The BBC's Jonathan Beale, in Washington, says the US has already made clear that it is preparing to take unilateral action against Burma's military dictators. Washington is also hoping that its steps will encourage other nations to act and embolden the protesters on Burma's streets, he adds.I think it's appropriate to target a vulnerable dictatorship with economic and travel restrictions in order to topple the government. I do, however, worry a bit about the timing. Sanctions could potentially have a destabilizing effect, but implementing them now could remove any disincentive that the military junta has for acting against the protesters.--Robert Farley
