As usual, de debbil is in de details...
We have deliberately aimed sanctions, not at Saddam, but at his people in the false hope that they will overthrow him. This was not a bad gambit at first, but has proven unworkable. Worst of all, it has had the unintended effect of creating resentment from a people that, with subtle changes in the plan, could become our biggest supporters in the ME.
Time to 'think different'...
globalpolicy.org
The UN can track the end-use of imports and determine that they were used for stated, purely civilian purposes. This is known as the “end-use/user verification” process and some 300 UN staff are currently available in Iraq for this purpose. UN officials, including the Secretary General, have regularly criticised the “holds” and argued that the UN has a much-enhanced capacity for on-site inspections and end-use verification. (106) But the United States insists that it has little faith in such options, preferring to impose holds instead. While perfect verification is probably impossible, the US approach imposes a very high cost for a very slight benefit. Its holds prevent many critical goods from reaching Iraq, blocking essential humanitarian supplies and urgently needed equipment and infrastructure. The import of modern ambulances without communications radio suggests the unacceptably compromised humanitarian system that Iraq must endure under the UN flag...
Looking at the accumulated records of holds, the biggest disparity between orders and deliveries exists in the Telecommunications-Transport sector, where the US has placed so many holds that the value of contracts on hold recently exceeded the value of all contracts delivered throughout the program. (108) The Electricity, Oil Spares and Water-Sanitation sectors likewise suffer from large numbers of “holds” on contracts that are vital to Iraq’s infrastructure. UN officials implementing the program have insisted repeatedly that such holds gravely damage the program. Sevan has spoken about holds’ “direct negative effect on the program,” about the “interminable quagmire,” and the “appalling disrepair” of Iraqi infrastructure” but to no avail. (109) Resolution 1409 may at least partially relieve this nightmare, but progress initially appears very slow. In the first week of implementation, just $7.6 million in holds were released, (110) a rate that if sustained would require more than 13 years to work down the entire backlog. |
