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SANCTIONS-KUWAITI-605@newsroom.co.uk wrote: > With respect, the Arab League and G.C.C. have clearly urged Iraq to comply with U.N. Resolutions >regarding the Kuwait 605 hostages [499] and PoWs [106] so why do you omit this subject matter when >mentioning Arab states ? I omitted mentioning it, I suppose, because it didn't seem relevant to my point, which was that the political interests of several Arab States in the region are not dissimilar from the basic containment strategy pursued by the U.S. and Britain. Therefore, I doubted whether they could be counted upon as a crucial linkage in the anti-sanctions movement as Peter suggested. The issue you raise has more to do with determining Iraq's compliance as a basis for removing sanctions. I suspect if Iraq were presented with a straightforward equation - release the hostages and POWs and sanctions will be lifted - they would all be home by now. The same is true of the other criteria for compliance. If these were clear and straightforward, sanctions would already have been lifted. They are not simple, clear, or straightforward, because sanctions on Iraq have become The Policy, not an instrument of policy. Compliance is largely a shell game betweem the UN and Iraq while Iraqis themselves suffer the consequences. That said, I do look forward to any response Eric might receive regarding his letter to the FCO. I will happily be proven wrong on this, if any of the states concerned can provide clear, achieveable compliance criteria so that we can achieve a speedy end to this debacle. I do want to see the POWs and Hostages returned, not just to Kuwait, but also to Iran. I also want to see Abu Ghraib and other prisons opened, and the dissidents set free, I want to see the Kurds compensated for genocide, the Marsh Arabs compensated for their forced depopulation and environmental destruction, and the whole Baath Party mob brought before an international tribunal. I just don't want the Iraq people to continue being hostages themselves until these goals are achieved. Regards Ben Rempel -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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