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writing for godot

Iraq One Year Later: Sanctions Continue War

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Written by Washington Peace Center   
Thursday, 18 August 2011 20:01
By Marie Martineau

This article is adapted from a piece published in the January 1992 issue of the Washington
Peace Letter.

One year ago this month, the United States was in the midst of carrying out the most intense bombing campaign in history against the people of Iraq. Yet when the war was over, the economic sanctions, put in place by the United Nations to drive Iraq out of Kuwait, were not lifted. One year later, under pressure from the United States, the sanctions continue
to be enforced and are wreaking havoc on the Iraqi people.

Food and medicine were specifically exempted from the sanctions, yet no food or medicine actually reached Iraq during the six months prior to the beginning
of the conflict. At the close of the war, U.N. Undersecretary General Martti Ahtisaari reported
that supplies in the food rationing system of Iraq had fallen to 39% of their pre-sanctions level. Food prices on the open market had skyrocketed 1,000%.

The U.N Secretary General’s Mission to Iraq under Saddrudin Aga Khan, along with experts from all relevant U.N. agencies, conducted an on-site study of Iraq’s food and health needs, and prepared recommendations for the U.N. Secretary General. Their recommendations were ignored by the Security Council in favor of a plan which fell $800 million short of Iraq’s established needs and gave aid under terms by which Iraq lost control of its oil revenues.

In any food crisis, the greatest number of victims is small children. By August 1991, the International Study Team found that 900,000 children in Iraq were malnourished. An estimated 170,000 children would die before May 1992. By August 1991, the International Study Team found that 900,000 children in Iraq were malnourished. The allied bombing destroyed the water and sanction system of Iraq, and water-borne diseases reached epidemic proportions. The humanitarian assistance under the oil sale proposed by the Security Council in August 1991 provided no funding to restore the agricultural production of Iraq, nor the water and sanitation sectors.

Bush’s constant attacks upon Saddam Hussein during the war brought the nation to near hysteria. America was led to believe that if Saddam Hussein were gotten rid of, all would be well. With three unfriendly ascendant nuclear powers on it's borders, Iraq would probably continue its quest for nuclear weapons no matter who was in power. It would appear that unless the U.S. intends to disarm one nation after another by the gruesome method used on Iraq, stable disarmament can only be achieved through comprehensive regional cooperation. Without security guarantees such as were given after World War 2 to a demilitarized Germany and Japan, it is hard to see how any nation in the Middle East would willingly disarm for long.

The question now before the American people is: are we going to allow Iraq’s children to be fed or continue to use them as pawns to bring about the overthrow of a government?
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