In presentations about sanctions on Iraq, I am often asked about UN disarmament efforts.
Economic sanctions cause hundreds of thousands of deaths through starvation and disease.
In two visits to the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad this past year, I had opportunities to speak with an inspector who headed the permanent monitoring team. Our five person delegation expressed unanimous surprise. During the 40-minute interview which was closed to the press, our group showed Mr. Butler photos of dying children that we took in Iraqi hospitals. We challenged him to speak publicly about the sanctions being a weapon of mass destruction. While Mr. Butler's words to us may have sounded conciliatory, his actions since then have been anything but peace-loving.