11 May 2001 In the run-up to the expected showdown at the UN in three weeks, when the current ninth phase of the Iraqi oil-for-food program ends, US State Department officials have embarked on intensive consultations with their four fellow permanent Security Council members on the ideas for “smart sanctions” the Americans intend to propose in the UN resolution covering the program’s 10th phase. The proposals, expounded to the French,…
Author: Ruba Husari
IOF Editor
Iraq-Mideast Conundrum
22 June 2001 Pressure is mounting as UN Security Council members race to revamp the 11-year-old sanctions regime against Baghdad before their self-imposed Jul. 3 deadline. Pushed by its main regional ally, Saudi Arabia, the US is finding it increasingly difficult to win success on the Iraqi front without becoming actively involved in the Middle East conflict. At the same time, however, Riyadh is helping the US pile the pressure…
Iraq-Russia: What Now?
16 July 2001 Using its oil as both weapon and bribe, Iraq — thanks to Russia and some of its Arab neighbors — has thwarted US attempts to revamp the 11-year-old UN sanctions regime, and end Baghdad’s control over oil smuggling. For Washington, which launched the initiative in February as a cornerstone of its Mideast foreign policy, it’s back to the drawing board. A Russian “nyet” to the Anglo-American ideas…
Iraq-India: Special Friends
15 December 2000 A deal reached with India last month could set the ball rolling for a new type of arrangement between Baghdad and “friendly countries.” In return for the award of an exploration contract in the western desert, India could trade wheat and rice for Iraqi oil outside the UN oil-for-food program, Iraqi sources say. New Delhi is now talking to the UN about applying for a sanctions waiver,…