Reply #38: You forgot to mention the deaths of over a million Iraqi children

[IndianaGreen]

directly resulting from UN sanctions. Sanctions that stayed in place thanks to the tremendous pressure the Clinton Administration put on the UN.

When questioned about US responsibility for the genocide of Iraqi children, Clinton's Secretary of State Madelyn Albright justified the killings by saying:

“I think that is a very hard choice, but the price, we think, the price is worth it.”

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0311c.asp

Big Dog was still President when the following article was published by Common Dreams:

Published on Friday, August 11, 2000 in The Irish Times
UN Sanctions Against Iraq Only Serve US Ambition
by Denis J. Halliday

Like many Irish readers, and others overseas who approached me requesting a response, I was shocked by the degree of over-simplification and misinformation contained in the article by the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, published in these pages (August 4th).

Ms Albright ordains that the UN sanctions must continue. This despite their failure and human cost, as determined by UNICEF to be the death of some 5,000 children under five years of age each month, and that excludes teenagers, adults and the elderly also dying unnecessarily under the UN embargo. One can only assume that she calls for its continuation to meet American ambitions for suppression of Iraq and control of the Middle East.

The status quo sustained by US-driven sanctions has made for a certain stability within Iraq under Saddam Hussein as required by nervous neighbours. This is combined with an instability outside of Iraq enabling the US, Britain and others to sell vast amounts of weapons to the Arab countries. Thus the US economy is thriving on arms sales with the resulting impoverishment of the Arab world.

In addition, this instability has allowed US control of oil resources, one of the underlying ambitions of President Bush when he set in motion the Gulf War under the respectability of the UN in 1990.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/081100-104.htm