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Dear Tim: A few brief points I don't have the absolute figures to hand to compare, but it is obvious that a snapshot of right now with say 1989 is not an honest or at least well informed use of statistics - it probably involves comparing funds raised under OFF, not actual OFF deliveries which are much lower (see my earlier posts on this) - it ignores the continuing negative impact of the bombing and the 1990-96 period when very few supplies got through (this means there is a vast built-in deficit of things needing replaced and repaired) - it ignores the enormous inefficiences of OFF which is a system of handouts: the UN has repeatedly and consistently stated that only a return to a revived cash economy can ensure that the needs of the Iraqi people are met. Best wishes Eric On Mon, 30 Jul 2001 02:06:32 -0700 tim buckley <tim.buckley@tesco.net> wrote: > Alexander Sternberg writes, in a thoughtful and informative post: > "In any case, and more importantly, never before in the history of > Iraq has such a high > amount of the country's public wealth been dedicated solely to > humanitarian goods and > services. Before the events of 1990-91 most of Iraq's public wealth was > allocated to > non-humanitarian and non-productive endeavors, most notably the military > and other > security organizations. Before the events of 1990-91, LESS THEN 25% of > Iraq's > public wealth was dedicated to non-military or non-security services. > Today, more > resources are being earned than even before the events of 1990-91" > > This sounds like it could be true, although I cannot confirm the figures. However, assuming it is >true, we still have to account for the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Iraq. Therefore, we >have to look at the economic effects of sanctions on things like investment, employment and >incomes. Alexander states that "never before in the history of Iraq has such a high amount of the >country's public wealth been dedicated solely to humanitarian goods and services." > This kind of claim sits uneasily with the fact that ordinary Iraqis are, as Alexander himself >admits, "suffering inordinately".(I detect here an element of that naivete Alexander attributes to >anti-sanctions campaigners). The supposed humanitarian program allowed under sanctions is >obviously not working and the evidence from the UN indicts the program itself, rather than Saddam. >(Notwithstanding his numerous crimes in other areas). Economies are complex and cannot >effectively be run on a humanitarian basis by a bureaucracy like the UN, however well intentioned. > > > Best, Tim > ---------------------- Dr. Eric Herring Department of Politics University of Bristol 10 Priory Road Bristol BS8 1TU England, UK Tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582 Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133 http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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://www.casi.org.uk