Moreover, economic sanctions, because of their subtlety, foster bystander apathy. U.N. reports indicate that more than a million people have died of curable illnesses including malnutrition, diarrhea, leukemia and infectious diseases because of sanctions on Iraq. We recognize our role as bystanders and wish to act constructively and compassionately in that role. From a psychological perspective, sanctions under the current conditions in Iraq fail to achieve their goal to weaken the current regime. This diverts their attention and blame from the despotic Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.
Sanctions represent a misapplication of how to shape behavior, e.g. punishing the wrong target.
The people have been affected much more than the ruling elite. We have special concerns about the debilitating effects of psychological trauma currently inflicted by the sanctions upon the citizens of Iraq, particularly children and the elderly. We are also concerned about how this trauma might effect future leaders of Iraq and U.S. relations with those future leaders. Despite this, the suffering of the people of Iraq under the sanctions has worsened, even under an increased level of oil sales. Furthermore, the isolation of Iraqi physical and mental health practitioners from the international health community under sanctions has seriously degraded the ability of these professionals to provide adequate physical and mental health care.