The Iraqi Government's continuing drainage scheme will only serve to prolong the sanctions' enforcement. The impact of U.N. sanctions has already reduced Iraq's trade competitiveness considerably. The revenue available today for those types of imports, including those arriving as contraband from Jordan, Turkey, and Iran, does not exceed a billion dollars. More sanctions or legal actions could cripple Iraq even further. Mass arrests, assassinations, poisoning the water and burning villages were also ordered by the Iraqi regime.
Agriculture has nothing to do with what is actually transpiring.
Related Information and Sources 15. Relevant Websites and Literature Books Hazelton, Fran, ed. Journals Gleick, Peter H., Haleh Hatami, Peter Yolles. Draining Life From Iraq's Marshes. America's Unyielding Policy Toward Iraq.