Debates like these all hinge on some abstract morality...much like in 1774 the height of honor in war was wearing a bright red shirt, standing in a line and shooting at the enemy 50 yards away...if you didn't do that, well you were a despicable dishonorable !@#$%^&...
however, the dominate force in the world at that time chose to define that as the moral form of combat because that is what they were good at. Much like using nukes used to be taboo in CN...then one alliance came around and took the position that they would not only use nukes as a last resort defensively, not even just defensivly, they would first strike nuke in every war, even on offense. Thanks to them, it's now the standard.
this debate basically is about who can you sanction. the only reason not to start a sanction war is cause, well, perhaps the enemy is in a better position politically to beat you at it...or cause the potential blowback on the moral front is worse than the gain (hence this debate). We all live in a world where the opinions of others, like this thread, matter.
Yet, what is assumed to be moral and just and right is ALWAYS what supports the current dominate force. IT IS ALWAYS THAT WAY. Only minority rule tortures, and spies on it's citizen population. In this case, only a threatened power looks to open a new front in the war by sanctions. TOP is gonna lose by sheer force of MASSIVE ATTACK...depending on their end goal, fractioning into 300 one man alliances is a possible tactic...perhaps it would help them survive better, perhaps not...but it's an idea.
just talking it up i guess. really there is no possible moral judgement in war. morality is a creation of civilization, and war is not civilized. i live by a set of principals in my daily life, in civilization, but the second my life is challenged, you point a gun at me, all bets are off and i will kick you in the nuts as a first tactic.
That said, the whole point of my post was to lead up to a moral judgement on this discussion. It is immoral to open a new front on a war if you're winning. It is always moral to do such if you are losing. In this case, no, you can't sanction that dude.