The United States would claim that almost anything that the civilian economy imports could also be used for military applications. For example, the United States has banned pencils for schoolchildren because these pencils contain graphite, which is also a lubricant. It has banned batteries, X-ray machines and ambulances because they could be used in military conflicts. Iraq is now barred from importing adequate supplies of chlorine to purify its water. It could be used as a component in a chemical weapon.
Computers too have potential military uses.
So importing computers has been prohibited for 10 years. It can only miseducate the broad public about the real issues in the Middle East if the progressive movement supports the imperialist powers in demanding the demilitarization of Iraq. The movement cannot be consistently progressive without thoroughly exposing the true dynamics of imperialist military and political strategy that tries to re-colonize the Arab people.