robert, there is a lot of myth swirling around this issue. the sanctions did result in severe hardships for the people of iraq. however, once the oil for food program got under way, things really started to turn around. by the time 'shock and awe' started, the UN-administered program had kicked serious butt on hunger and malnutrition, as well as a whole series of health/welfare indices like various illnesses, the water and education infrastructures, etc. Baghdad was beginning to prosper once again, as well.
now, as far as s. h.'s spending priorities during the first few years of sanctions, i expect a serious case could be made against him. however, it is incumbent on whomsoever should wish to condemn him to provide an accurate and thorough accounting of his government's actual spending during that time period, and demonstrate that the cost of preventing the hunger, malnutrition, illness, etc., as well as rebuilding his country, would not have exceeded his government's means. for if it were beyond his government's means, then the u.s.a. would indeed be to blame. more realistically, though, the u.s.a. bears some blame because it would be almost self-evident to anyone involved in the process, that health and welfare spending would be among the first things to get cut. not to mention, does anyone else see the irony here? after all, there is a lot of inequity, hunger and malnutrition in the united states, and we don't even have sanctions to blame it on. . . . -chris b. In a message dated 8/8/05 10:31:46 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: <That said, I have a question that perhaps someone out there can address, re: <<"Dysentery, starvation (due to ten years of sanctions) and war in Iraq.", <specifically concerning the sanctions. Whatever the US role in those <sanctions, it has always seemed to me that Saddam Hussein had the resources to <address <the basic health/sanitation needs of his people but instead chose to spend <it on a lavish lifestyle for himself, his family, and supporters, and on other <nonessentials compared to basic needs. Yet, almost without exception, the <US gets blamed for this humanitarian disaster during the sanctions. Why? >> _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
