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Nothing new here but it does show that 'smart' sanctions are still on the agenda: US, BRITAIN CONSIDER REVISED SMART SANCTIONS FOR IRAQ: STRAW CAIRO, Nov 15 (AFP) - The United States and Britain are studying with Russia and other nations a revised plan for "smart sanctions" on Iraq, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in an Arabic newspaper interview published Thursday. The revised plan will permit Iraq to import all products not related to defense and will prevent it from importing products used to develop weapons of mass destruction, Straw said in the interview with Al-Hayat daily. Baghdad has steadfastly opposed any revised regime of economic sanctions slapped on the country 11 years ago after its invasion of Kuwait. Straw gave no details but was quoted as saying the plan was modified and improved, coming closer to positions expressed by Iraq's neighbors Jordan, Syria and Turkey. These three countries had expressed reservations about the smart sanctions regime. Straw said the revised plan would satisfy the interests of all, including Russia's, though the talks with Moscow had not ended and he could not say whether a new proposal would be submitted to the UN Security Council before the end of the month, when the current phase of the oil-for-food program expires. The UN Security Council in July put off indefinitely a vote on a revised sanctions regime after Russia threatened to use its veto and opposition from Iraq's neighbors. The reforms would scrap the embargo on civilian trade with Baghdad while tightening controls to prevent oil smuggling out of Iraq and illegal arms imports into the country. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.