Sanctions as Just?

This political cartoon came out in 1991, how prescient it was. Desert Storm was 100 hours of combat with over a month of aerial softening up with many precision weapons as a prelude.

What followed was 12 years of sanctions, read containment, that leaked like a sieve. And as the cartoon predicted it was not Saddam's military that suffered but the average Iraqi man, woman, and child. In fact the UN itself estimates 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of the sanctions. Along with at least a million other Iraqis. While Saddam built palaces with gold plated bathroom fixtures.

Who is to blame for the sanctions? The man who is now in the docket being represented by Ramsey Clark, Saddam Hussein. If he had co-operated with the UN inspectors and actually dismantled/destroyed in a verifiable way his WMD programs, those 500,000 Iraqi children might be alive. This is assuming these children, nor their parents, never annoyed Saddam or his henchmen.

Madeline Albright when asked if the death of 500,000 children was worth the price to contain Saddam Hussein, she said: “This is a very hard choice, but we think the price is worth it.” At least Albright was willing to be forthright this once; Gov. Bill Richardson[NM-D], another former Clinton Administration mover, could not even say that. "Well, I believe our policy was correct, yes."

Our policy was correct? What next Gov. Richardson will you say? You were merely following orders? By not deposing Saddam after the first few UN resolutions failed to move him to comply, think of how many of that 1.5 million could be alive today to vote, to create their own futures, to have their own children. Don't any of you ever dare say 'for the children' to my face again or I just might punch you for being a cold hearted evil associate henchman for genocide.