I was disappointed that the Nov. 12 editorial, which states that “unilateral action” against Iraq must remain an option and sanctions must “remain firmly in place,” made no mention of who will be the victims of such a policy.
On Sept. 1 a Tribune editorial stated that “Iraq’s people have suffered enough” and described the horrible toll on Iraq after seven years of sanctions: More than 1 million Iraqis, including 567,000 children, have died due to the effects of sanctions that embargo food and medicine. Why no mention of this contradiction in the present crisis with the Iraqi leadership–that sanctions only harm the people of Iraq, leaving Saddam Hussein’s regime firmly in control?
All efforts should now be concentrated on finding a way to end those sanctions, which have caused so much suffering and death in Iraq. Military action would further delay consideration of human life and the basic needs of millions of people and place many more Iraqi lives at risk.
The present political crisis is part of a continuing pattern that will not be broken until humanitarian concerns are given priority and a clear process for lifting the sanctions is in place. The United Nations is capable of finding means of maintaining peace and furthering goals of disarmament that do not violate basic principles of humanitarian law. It is time to call upon the leaders of governments to address by diplomatic means the underlying causes of the present impasse without resort to further violence.
