The only effect this latest empty propaganda ploy will have is making our job harder.  People will have heard the news that the US is trying to help, but that evil Sa-damn  just won't let them.  They inferred that the government of Iraq is intentionally keeping supplies from the population.  This is curious, seeing  that UN officials monitoring the oil for food program have said that the government of Iraq is doing a better job distributing supplies than UN and WHO workers in the north.   Denis Halliday resigned as director of the Iraq Programme (Oil for Food) last year, citing the failure of the plan - not because the Iraqi government was lying or cheating, but because the amount of money allowed thru the program fell far short of the amount required just to meet basic survival needs.
 

The US has no intention of alleviating the suffering of the people of Iraq.  While trying to put a humanitarian face on US policy, officials are at the same time admitting that they are using starvation and disease as a weapon in their bid to install another dictator more friendly to US economic interests.

From AP Wire story,  Jan 13

White House Press Secretary Lockhart indicated the administration believes that with his defiance Saddam is losing a battle of attrition.

``We've had a policy of containing Saddam Hussein since the end of the Gulf War, and that policy is based on crippling
economic sanctions that have cost him $120 billion, at least, since the end of the war; degrading his ability to threaten his neighbors and to reconstitute or deliver weapons of mass destruction,'' Lockhart said. ``And that's the policy we're going to continue to pursue until we see some positive change and some indication that Saddam Hussein is willing to disarm.''
 

The concern of the US is not the deaths of millions of Iraqi's brought about by the sanctions, but who the public holds responsible for those deaths.
 

James B. Foley, Deputy Spokesman
Excerpt from Daily Press Briefing
December 21, 1998
 

   I think there's an increasing consciousness and realization that he is the one who is responsible for the suffering of
     his people because of his repeated failure to abide by the commitments he undertook at the end of the Gulf War.
     He's put his people through the situation where they've been subjected to sanctions, where they've been
     subjected to periodic military action.
 

The logic of blaming the Iraqi president for the genocidal tendencies of the US seems to make as much sense as some hit man killing everyone in a town because the mayor owed someone money, then claiming the mayor was the one guilty of murder because he refused to pay his debts.

Its hard to imagine how lifting the ceiling on oil sales revenue is going to help.  With the oil fields working at maximum capacity they are unable to reach the current allowed ceiling.  The main concern of the US is forcing the Iraqi government to allow UNSCOM inspectors to resume poking around, and to run air support missions to support the CIA coup attempt from the north.  The US officials keep insisting that even if they wanted to lift the sanctions it would be impossible. They insist that the 'UN resolution mandates' unquestionable proof of complete and total disarmament before lifting of sanctions.  The fact that by passing a new resolution, the UN security council could negate the earlier 'mandate' and lift the sanctions if they wished.   Aside from the partnership of the US & Great Britain, it seems that the security council is moving in that direction, and the US 'plan' is an effort to scuttle any other proposals that involve even a partial lifting of sanctions.
 

It seems that the work of activist around the world calling for the lifting of the sanctions is having an effect, otherwise the US would not have put forth this cynical proposal.  The state department is quite adept at manipulating public opinion thru misleading propaganda and outright lies, and this will make our job harder.  It will be more important than ever to be able to quote 'official documentation' from organizations like the UN and WHO which speak to the reality of the situation.  We have to step up our campaign to counter the government propaganda machine.

here's a couple of calendars of events, protests, actions

if your town isn't listed here, organize something and put yourself on the list.

Civil Disobedience HQ
ProtestNet

Info pages, links to UN, WHO etc. & listings of events

Voices in the Wilderness
Iraq Action Coalition
International Action Center
Nonviolence Web
Mad Anarchist Bakers' League- Stop the US War Against Iraq page