An offical traveling with the new secretary of State, Colin Powell reports that Powell is ready to ease sanctions against Iraq.
The official reports that several Arab nations expressed concerns about sanctions on civilian goods so Powell wants to life those sanctions while leaving the military sanctions in place.
There is some concern about an Iraq-Syria oil pipeline that is reportedly being used to bypass U.N. sanctions.
Sanctions were placed on Iraq after Desert storm. They were supposed to be lifted after U.N. arms inpectors had inspected Iraqi military capabilities (specifically unconventional weapons like nuclear and biological weapons) and certified that they were not developing them. Unfortunately Saddam kicked the inspectors out before they could complete their job so the sanctions have remained in place.
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[This message has been edited by Wendy (edited 08-07-2001).]
