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Peace is the best policy
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David Li
US jets bombed Iraqi air defence systems in the northern no-fly zone on February 22. This was a second air raid within seven days, following the February 16 raid against Baghdad by the US and British warplanes. The raid was the first attack on targets outside the no-fly zones and the first assault on the Baghdad region in two years. It exacerbated the explosive Middle East situation once again.
The first foreign policy initiative of US President George Bush was an announcement of a unilateralist attitude more extreme than the Clinton Administration's policy. During last year's presidential campaign, Bush, whose father led the Persian Gulf War in 1991, denounced the Clinton Administration for weakening the sanctions against Baghdad.
Bush has a fresh opportunity to go beyond mere containment of Iraq on the 10th anniversary of the war, signalling his intention to shape a policy of his own. While denying that the raids marked a shift in US tactics, Bush characterized the attack as a "routine" implementation of US policy toward Iraq, and warned that further large-scale attacks would come if Baghdad continued to challenge US warplanes patrolling the no-fly zones.
The foreign policy significance of the air strikes lies in the fact that they took place a week before a tour of the Middle East by Secretary of State Colin Powell, giving an apparent sign US commitment to its dominant position in the region. It is also impossible to be oblivious to the fact that the current attack on Iraq is being promoted by the very hardliners who presided over the 1991 Gulf War: Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War, and the new Vice-President Cheney, who was defence secretary.
The hawkish US air strikes on Iraq not only prompted a barrage of protest from Russia, China and Arab countries, but also drew sharp criticism from its key Nato allies. A split among Nato members over the bombing deepened, with France condemning the action as illegal and Germany withholding public support. Some Arab countries show great indignation at the US abuses of military power.
Nine years of economic sanctions and continuous military assaults remain a crippling burden on Iraq, have devastated the Iraqi population and economy, and brought untold sorrow and misery to ordinary Iraqis. The latest statistics reveal that the 1997 Oil-for-Food Plan, intended to ease the suffering of the civilian population, has not been effective in achieving the desired goal, and has brought very little comfort to the Iraqi population.
It is reported that 1.4 million Iraqi civilians including 600,000 children have died from disease and malnutrition as a result of the sanctions. The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that over 4 million Iraqis, constituting 20 per cent of the population, live in extreme poverty. The drastic reduction in the purchasing power of the Iraqi Dinar, coupled with the destruction of the industrial infrastructure during the 1991 war, have resulted in the complete collapse of the Iraqi economy.
The sanctions have also damaged countries that were Iraq's economic partners, particularly Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and even some European countries.
The US Iraqi policy has become increasingly isolated internationally. In particular, the US-led trade embargo has been challenged by a growing number of European and Middle East countries, notably France and Russia. France and Russia are eager to resume all-out trade with Iraq. Syria, Iran, Egypt and some of the gulf states are opening up or expanding trade with Baghdad.
However, the Bush Administration has made it clear that containing Saddam Hussein will be a priority, without attempting to ease the suffering of millions of innocent Iraqi victims. The US insists sanctions cannot be finally lifted until Iraq complies with 1991 Gulf War ceasefire resolutions and allows UN weapons inspectors to oversee elimination of its weapons of mass destruction programmes.
Last Friday Bush and Blair met in Camp David and agreed to take a tough line against Iraq. They also warned of taking ''appropriate action'' if Iraq was found to be building weapons of mass destruction.
So far, Iraq once again rejected the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq as a condition for the end of sanctions. Iraq has prevented the arms experts from visiting since the United States and Britain carried out a large-scaled bombings in December 1998.
Hopes for a solution are low. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that Iraq will attend new talks aimed at breaking the stalemate over UN sanctions, but acknowledged that recent allied air strikes could make dialogue "awkward", and discouraged any thought of a miraculous breakthrough on the sanctions issue.
This war has dragged on for too long. It is time to end it and offer a helping hand to the Iraqi people. It is time to stop bombing the Iraqis and time to remove the sanctions. It is time for Washington to reconsider its policy toward Iraq. More and more voices are now being heard for a peaceful and complete solution. A responsible political dialogue is called for with Iraq to resolve whatever issues remaining on the road to a total reconciliation. Bush has a great opportunity to build new relations in the Middle East.
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