Overhaul Sanctions on Iraq

The Feb. 16 airstrikes against Iraqi radars threatening planes patrolling the no-fly zones in Iraq were necessary to protect American and British pilots. The continued enforcement of these zones limits the ability of Saddam Hussein to threaten either Kuwait or minorities in the north and south of the country. But missiles alone cannot solve the larger dilemma--what should be done about Iraq?

For the last several years, both the economic sanctions against Iraq and the fragile coalition that won the Gulf War have been disintegrating. As the Iraqi people starve and the Iraqi government increasingly evades the sanctions, nations from Syria to Russia to France have made it clear that some sort of change is necessary; the status quo is untenable. To revitalize the effort to install weapons inspectors on the ground in Iraq and to solidify the coalition supporting sanctions, the United States should immediately encourage more lenient and flexible sanctions, an expansion of international humanitarian aid to Iraq and direct U.S. assistance to Iraq's people.

By most accounts, the sanctions have had devastating effects on the Iraqi people but little success impacting Hussein and his ruling elite. Because of restrictions intended to prevent Hussein from importing chemicals that could be used for biological weapons, Iraqi civilians have been denied essential drugs. Due to severe poverty, many Iraqis will grow up without a basic education.

In this light, yesterday's statements by Secretary of State Colin Powell are an important step forward. By exempting from the sanctions some dual use items that are crucial to civilian life, the U.S. should be able to recalibrate the sanctions to ease their impact on the least fortunate in Iraqi society. Other medical, agricultural and educational supplies should be immediately exempted from the sanctions. In addition, the international community, and the United States in particular, should step up direct-aid efforts to help Iraqis affected by the sanctions. The oil-for-food program has not been a success--Hussein has not taken full advantage of it in order to capitalize on the suffering of his own people. By offering direct humanitarian assistance and asking others to do the same, America has the opportunity to regain some semblance of moral leadership on this issue. The U.S. must make good on former president George H.W. Bush's claim that America's quarrel is with Hussein, not with the Iraqi people.

Nonetheless, the sanctions should not be scrapped entirely. In past years, Hussein ejected U.N. inspectors before they reached a satisfactory conclusion. As a result, Iraq has never proven that it has abandoned its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. Hussein has threatened his neighbors in the past, and there is no indication that he has changed his ways. Until inspectors are back on the ground, the general economic sanctions should not be lifted.

President George W. Bush and his administration must make the reintroduction of inspectors the top priority. Loosening the current sanctions allows the administration to both address a humanitarian crisis and regain credibility with France, Russia and some of the Gulf states. By offering to drop the general sanctions in return for weapons inspections, keeping only an arms embargo in place, the U.S. should be able to reunite our allies by offering Iraq a fair deal.