The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
Dear All,
I would appreciate any replies to my following train of thought.
The US and UK governments want sanctions in place to prevent Saddam
Hussein building up any form of military threat. All the funds from oil
sales are kept under UN control and tight monitoring of all imports takes
place to meet this end.
However, it is also clear that the current form of sanctions has made Iraq
a member of the third world with very severe implications for the innocent
Iraqi people.
It is clear to me that this level of suffering should be stoppped but I
question the need to lift sanctions.
Would the following steps relieve this suffering and yet still prevent
military imports;
1) reduction in the 30% of Iraqi oil sales that is currently taken off by
the UN (part of this money is used to pay reparations for the Gulf war.
Are these not covered after 10 years?)
2) A more lenient attitude to imports. i.e allow Iraq to rebuild its
infrastructure of roads, phones and electricity supply. This should
improve the distribution network for relief supplies.
3) If Iraq will not order enough food/medicine can we not order it for
them? (Why should the purchasing be down to, universally declared
evil, Saddam Hussein?) Can we not treat the situation as a humanitarian
disaster (which it is) and actually buy the needed supplies ourselves?
I appreciate that these measures will not aid the removal of
Saddam, (Historically revolutions require the assistance of traders and
bussinessmen all of whom lose their power as a result of sanctions)
but surely they would help the people of Iraq while still leaving the UN
enough control to prevent an arms build up.
Thankyou for your time.
Mark Tribe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please visit www.thehungersite.com. If you click on one button sponsors
will donate money to the United Nations World Food Program. It will take
less than one minute.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq
For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk
Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website:
http://welcome.to/casi