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RE: [casi] The Lifting of Sanctions...



Dear Roger and others,

You raise some of the large questions about Iraq's future.  I do not at
present have a terribly good feel for the Washington debate, and thus how
thinking there is developing on them.  On the question, though:

> The sanctions,
> seemingly in defiance of the original mandate, have been
> lifted but control of the economics of the situation have
> effectively been turned over to the country which illegally
> attacked and now occupies.  Does this make sense to anyone?
> Could anyone explain to me what the security council was
> thinking.  There must be a rational explanation somewhere.

My sense is that fear and fatigue dominated the decision making of the other
permanent members of the Security Council.  US and British forces occupied
Iraq.  Further, the US was attempting to send very hawkish signals,
including possibly the suggestion that it would simply do what it wanted to
- whatever the Security Council thought.  Thus, I think that members were
scrambling to get back onside rather than opposing a fait accompli without
clear counterproposals.  As it is, they've now successfully left behind a
very divisive agenda item.

Best,

Colin Rowat

work | Room 406, Department of Economics | The University of Birmingham |
Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK | web.bham.ac.uk/c.rowat | ( 44/0) 121 414 3754 |
(+44/0) 121 414 7377 (fax) | c.rowat@bham.ac.uk

personal | (+44/0) 7768 056 984 (mobile) | (+44/0) 7092 378 517 (fax) |
(707) 221 3672 (US fax) | c.rowat@espero.org.uk


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