Sanctions No More

Response to Chicago Tribune's "Nuclear Agency Votes to Report Iran to UN Council"As the U.N. Security Council prepares to hear Iran’s violations of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, it would be useful to remind them of what happened in Iraq when sanctions were imposed (“Nuclear agency votes to report Iran to UN council,” Sept. 25).

For 13 years these sanctions had a harsh impact on innocent Iraqi civilians while having no effect on Saddam Hussein. Almost half a million children lost their lives due to contaminated water, lack of high quality food and an inadequate health care system. All these problems were caused by the sanctions. Saddam Hussein remained in power and felt no obligation to ensure his people benefited from the limited resources of the oil-for-food program.

The Security Council has an obligation to learn from its past mistakes by realizing sanctions do nothing but kill the innocents while letting corrupt leaders reap unintended benefits.