Sanctions Don't Kill People, Dictators Do

Scott Laderman's and Barry Riesch's editorial in Sunday's Minneapolis Star Tribune accuses the US and Great Britain of being responsible for the deaths of millions of Iraqi civilians since economic sanctions were imposed in 1990. They claim that Iraq is unable to feed its people, provide them clean water or health care, or even pay its teachers because of these sanctions. Here are a few facts from the US State Department that counter their arguments:

* Sanctions have never barred or limited the import of medicine to Iraq. In fact the UN has urged the Iraqis to order more basic medicines but they refused.

* There is no limit on the amount of food that Iraq can import. Baghdad has even been caught trying to export food out of Iraq all the while claiming the Iraqi people are starving.

* In northern Iraq, where the UN controls the humanitarian relief programs, child mortality rates are lower than they were before the Gulf War. In southern and central Iraq, where the Iraqi Government controls the oil for food program, mortality rates have doubled.

* Sanctions in no way limit Unitarian contributions to Iraq nor the work of NGOs(non governmental organizations). The only limitation place on such outside aid has been Saddam Hussein's refusal to allow most NGOs into the country and impede groups working within Iraq.

* Iraqi oil exports this year will reach the highest levels since 1990 and the Iraqi government is taking in billions of dollars of oil revenue which in could use aid its own people if it chose to do so.

The bottom line is that if Saddam Hussein wanted to to feed, educate, and provide health care for the Iraqi people he could despite the economic sanctions against Iraq. Instead he chooses to continue to build new palaces, pursue weapons of mass destruction, and reward acts of terrorism by paying the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. The suffering of the Iraqi people will not be relieved with the removal of sanctions. It will only be alleviated with the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime. The sooner the better.