The UN is finally thinking about getting around to removing sanctions on Iraq. What sanctions you ask? The sanctions put in place to punish Saddam Hussein after he invaded Kuwait back in 1991. Saddam and his government were of course removed by the U.S. invasion in 2003, and Saddam himself was executed back in 2006. According to Iraq, the sanctions, which have never been lifted, are costing it $24 billion a year.
The U.S. has been pushing to lift the sanctions for obvious reasons. Here we've been pumping billions into Iraq, while at the same time it's been languishing under penalties designed to punish a regime long out of power. The UN Security Council agreed to "review" the restrictions. But here's a statement from the current president of the council, a Frenchman
such a review would come only after Iraq's safeguards against acquiring weapons of mass destruction are demonstrated to be sufficient.Hey moron, Saddam is long gone, there's a 100,000+ U.S. troops sitting in Iraq, and the country is no longer a threat to anyone. There's absolutely no reason why normal trade with Iraq shouldn't be resumed.
The UN may be worse than useless for solving international problems, but it's great at exacerbating existing ones. It's nice to see that the U.S. is pushing for the removal of sanctions on Iraq, but they should have been gone years ago.
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