I highly doubt we didn't think they would retaliate. Many think it was done to purposefully get them to make the first strike. Perhaps. Cutting off trade is certainly a hostile action on our part, but not necessarily the wrong course of action. Still not sure if Pearl Harbor was ineptitude or allowed to happen to drum up public support, but that is aside to the point.No, If your selling crack to a crackhead and you want to stop selling it to him, you have to assume he might be hostile about it. THATS my point. When we cut off our supply to Japan, we never thought they might "retaliate" That was a big mistake.
If we are going to punish people by economic means, we have to assume the possibility of "retaliation" for those actions, or else we are not learning from history.
To summarize: Economic sanctions cause wars. This is not always a bad option. It is just as often a bad option as not. Heads of government should keep this in mind.
I don't think we're doing anything to Russia economically. We just aren't that big a trade partner with them. Like I've said, the biggest worry for the Russians would be if Europe stopped buying Russian fuel. That could most definitely spark the war. I could still see us using that as an excuse to jump into the war, so we still must tread carefully. Unlike the Japanese were the Russians are very prepared to fight us right here and now.