MAKE SANCTIONS ACCOUNTABLE TO ANNUAL REVIEW

The use -- and, it would seem, abuse -- of unilateral sanctions by the U.S. government needs to be both focused and controlled. Currently, more than 75 of the world's 200 countries are targets of U.S.-imposed sanctions for a total of 100 sanctions.

Sanctions have uses that are useful, but they can also be mere retribution with the power to do more harm than good. Clearly, sanctions that safeguard the security of the nation -- by not allowing the sale of certain military weapons and systems, for example -- are in our best interests.

But other sanctions, whose only point is to punish another country, often produce harmful results. A case in point would be protectionist sanctions that favor the sale or import of certain commodities.

Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana and Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, among others, support legislation that would require the administration to do an annual justification of sanctions. Such legislation could go a long way in opening markets that benefit American manufacturers and farmers without jeopardizing national security.