Current Analysis Scandals of Oil for Food Rep. Ralph Hall opened a set of Congressional hearings on July 8 with a dramatic flourish, denouncing "the deaths of thousands of Iraqis through malnutrition and lack of appropriate medical supplies." "We have a name for that in the United States," the Texas Republican told a subcommittee of the Hou Joy Gordon • 10 min read
Current Analysis Iraqi Food Security in Hands of Occupying Powers After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the UN Security Council's imposition of comprehensive economic sanctions upon Iraq, the former Iraqi government assembled a food ration database, which was later expanded under the UN's so-called Oil for Food program. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and Iraqi Shiite Nathaniel Hurd • 11 min read
Current Analysis Sanctions and the "Moral Case" for War Economic sanctions have suddenly resurfaced in the international debate about Iraq, after months of near silence on the issue. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in particular, has advanced the notion that one of the benefits of a war with Iraq would be the prospect of lifting the punitive economic sanctions Per Oskar Klevnas • 10 min read
Current Analysis Sanctions Renewed on Iraq Concluding almost a year of diplomatic wrangling, the UN Security Council has agreed to revise UN sanctions on Iraq when the eleventh phase of the oil for food program ends on May 29. Under the oil for food program, Iraq is allowed to sell its oil on the world market Sarah J Graham-Brown • 8 min read
Current Analysis Iraq: Rolling Over Sanctions, Raising the Stakes Late in the evening of November 27, the US and Russia appear to have reached an agreement to once again roll over existing sanctions on Iraq for six months, by which time Secretary of State Colin Powell hopes the two powers will have agreed on a version of his proposed "smart sanctions." The Decembe Sarah J Graham-Brown • 7 min read
MER Article The Iraqi Klondike Talk of a "new Middle East" was very much in vogue in the early 1990s. With a seeming Pax Americana reigning over the region after the Gulf war, and with Israel and its neighbors apparently nearing a comprehensive settlement, it looked as if economic interests, not political rivalries, (Author not identified) • 14 min read
Current Analysis How the Sanctions Hurt Iraq (This article was updated on November 14, 2001.) Colin Rowat • 10 min read
Current Analysis Smart Sanctions Heated debate in the UN Security Council on June 26 previewed the coming showdown over the US-British "smart sanctions" initiative, designed to "re-energize" the international consensus on sanctions against Iraq. Faced with declining international support for and compliance with the current sanctions, the United States and Marc Lynch • 6 min read
MER Article From the Editor (Spring 2001) On February 16, US and British warplanes bombed targets outside the no-fly zones for the first time since December 1998, prompting a brief media frenzy that refocused the world's attention on the low-level US-UK air war waged against Iraq since the 1990-1991 Gulf war. But the media mostly missed the The Editors • 3 min read
MER Article What About the Incubators? It feels oddly like being at a wake in a funeral home. Our Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation members speak very quietly with one another as we wait for a hospital official to brief us about conditions at the al-Mansour Children's wing of the Saddam City Medical Center. Dr. Mekki, the director, Kathy Kelly • 4 min read
MER Article Americans Against the Sanctions As US policy supporting the continuation of sanctions on Iraq becomes ever more isolated abroad, domestic criticism of sanctions also mounts. Opponents of sanctions gained new visibility in February 1998 at Ohio State University, when pointed questions from the audience disrupted the Clinton adminis (Author not identified) • 7 min read
MER Article The Politics of Consensus in the Gulf As American and British warplanes flew into action over Iraq in December 1998, they blasted away not only Iraqi targets but also the remnants of international consensus. After the Gulf war, the Security Council authorized economic sanctions and intrusive inspections aimed at the elimination of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) Marc Lynch • 10 min read
