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Iraq Caught in the Act? And Other Observations...


© lawhawk

Iraq was reported by CNN to have actually placed nerve gas on warheads during the Gulf War. A leak from the UN Inspectors reveals that the Iraqis may have been successful in arming a number of artillery shells with VX gas - a deadly nerve agent.

Iraq has long contended that they have not violated UN and Geneva provisions on the use of chemical and biological weapons as well as denied that they had any such weapons during the Gulf War. If this evidence is verified by independent tests, it could mean that sanctions against Iraq will continue for the foreseeable future. Until these revelations came out, signs were that the UN was willing to consider lifting the sanctions and allow humanitarian aid and services to enter Iraq.

Iraq's policies suggest that they have been engaging in a policy of deceit all along and should not be trusted. They have taken advantage of the international system in order to achieve national goals and the Iraqi public has suffered as a result. Sanctions should be tightened and focused squarely on the government of Iraq so that the Iraqi people should not suffer further harm.

Links of Interest

  • The Begin Sadat Center For Strategic Studies is a good resource for learning about the Arab-Israeli Conflict and how current efforts are working to bring peace to the region. They have a number of working papers written by professors in the field that help provide background and also possible solutions to the crucial issues.
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    Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages


    2.   Jun 26, 1998 8:21 AM
    As Jeff has stated, Iraq has not shown itself to be the model nation that it wants to project to a possibly sympathetic UN. It has been trying to obtain nuclear weapons through its own nuclear weapons ...

    -- posted by Lawhawk


    1.   Jun 25, 1998 9:22 PM
    I'd just like to say that Iraq has been, in fact, caught in the act time and time again.
    (Think: Osiraq).

    But even since then, there is extensive, and I do mean extensive, documentation of
    Iraq's ...


    -- posted by Jeff_Deutsch





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