The attempt to squeeze Putin economically likely couldn’t succeed as an isolated endeavor, Jentleson says, but these particular sanctions can be more successful because of the way in which they are directly impacting Russia’s military capabilities. Evaluations like Romney’s and others—in that Senate hearing, in the media, and elsewhere—who have questioned the effectiveness of these particular sanctions likely had unrealistic expectations for their potential, but the questions they are raising mirror many of the issues that experts have identified for decades.