The left used to complain that there was no need for the Oil for Food program and that it only hurt the Iraqi people. It does seem a little inconsistent now for those who claimed that the sanctions were not needed against Saddam to be slow to want to remove them now that the reason for them has been removed. Inconsistent that is, if their initial motives were really what is best for the Iraqi people. But perhaps its not inconsistent if their motives before were self-serving and their motives now are just to punish the US or make us look bad for having defeated their self-serving aim.

-Murrel

It already is an irrelevant debating society with an inabilty to do anything correct. I'm no longer shocked by their actions.

People ask why i don't reserve the same cynicism for the USA. The answer is that this country has yet to disappoint me with same frequency that the U.N. has. The U.N. is consistent.

1) France, Russia and Germany want the UN to remain a useful body. Useful to them that is. If the UN becomes totally irrelevant, they lose. So they are not in favour of lifting the sanctions now because it was the Security Council that imposed the sanctions and it has to be the SC that removes them. Don't forget - we kept telling them that Iraq has tons of weapons of mass destruction (many of which are now safe in Syria).

Lifting the sanctions now would be an example of the uselessness of the SC.

2) the other major reason why these countries don't want to lift the sanctions immediately - as they should do - is because it is their only leverage over the US on the issue of their existing, massive oil contracts with Saddam's Iraq. France and Russia want to keep those contracts and know damn well that they are highly likely to lose them as well as alllllll the massive debt that Iraq owes to them.

Russia's stance is - if the US guarantees that we will get paid what Iraq owes us and guarantees us some of the reconstruction monies, fine. If not, we won't agree to anything in the SC.

This is a power play by the "Axis of Weasels". Give us a "central role in Iraq", they say, and we'll lift sanctions.

Forget about reasoning with these people. This is a brilliant opportunity to scoop the UN into the "dustbin of history" and form new alliances based upon genuinely shared values.

That's the ironic thing about all this. If the sanctions aren't officially "lifted", but the US and other nations start acting as if they are, and we have troops on the gound to really enforce it this time, then those countries that try to thumb their noses at us will lose out heavily. No access to the oil, or any other trade.

The lack of rationality is astonishing. If I were France or Russia, I'd cut my losses now. Not dig myself deeper into my grave.

I think Russia et a may have their eyes on the several billions of dollars currently resting in the UN oil-for-food accounts. They will create some pretext and declare that the money will be used to pay off the debts of the previous regime. Most of these debts are owed to Russia and France.

This is not so surprising if it is looked at from the angle that this war and the division of NATO and the U.N. is over the EU challenging the U.S. for economic supremecy.

With the addition of more countries in the E.U., collectively now their economic power is greater than the U.S.

France and Germany now control the EU. Russia wants to join the EU. Everyone that resisted the U.S. in supporting the war was threatened by France and Germany to not support the U.S., or they would not be allowed to join the EU.

The U.S. wants to dump oil on the market to bring the prices down, but if sanctions are still in place, they won't be able to go over the 2.5million barrrels a day that are currently allowed by the oil for food program.

Russia is the one making the noise now because France and Germany have egg on their face from the war dispute in the U.N.

I would expect to see huge resitistance from the EU, and potential EU countries to anything that would help the U.S.

The UN has long been irrelevant. Which countries are on the human rights comittee?

Uh huh.

How did they react to the US, Brits, and Aussies going it "alone"? They stomped their feet a lot.

I, for one, if in trouble am not going to call the UN -- the Red Cross is a better choice if you really want help.

Better yet, Send in the Marines, AirForce, Navy, Army. Get me some real help!

First of all, in order to lift the sanctions, Iraq must be cleared of all WMD. That was the whole reason for invading Iraq, because they posed a threat to the US and to the world.
If the SC council is willing to do so, then this whole war was based on a LIE.
Why is not anyone asking this question? Why is not the Media asking this question?
It's not an issue of what role the SC has or who wants the oil at this point. It's about declaring Iraq free of WMD, then the sanctions should be lifted.

I doubt very much that the SC will lift the sanctions unless the US declares there are no WMD, anything short of that, would destroy UN credibility.
It just seems that nobody is asking this question, why the US want the sanctions lifted when they keep saying Iraq has WMD????
Now tell me it's not about OIL???

Just what is the EU / UN going to do if the new Iraqi government declares it's going to sell all the oil it wants to? While simultaneously offering to pay off the old debt, at say, ten cents on the dollar, take it or leave it? And the U.S, Austraila, and Japan all say "We'll buy it, screw the UN"?

Confiscating the Oil for _FOOD_ money to pay off debts to Russia and France (much of which involves pre-GW1 military sales!) would be the final act of perfidy by the UN.

Yaletowngirl: maybe because no one in their right mind thinks the US will do anything but dig up any WMD's and destroy them? So what's the point of having sanctions anymore? Oh and do you and your parents plan to pay for the reconstruction of Iraq out of your taxes, or would you rather Iraq finances it via their own oil revenue? Feel free to show your selflessness with your wallet here.

As for all the tears shed over the current anarchy, I think we'll do a bit better running the country (for a few months until there's a functioning government to put in charge) than the prior management has done in years.

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar — Gen. Tommy Franks lit a cigar and strolled through the glittering splendor of one of Saddam Hussein's bombed-out palaces, sitting in the gilded chairs and looking with obvious disgust at the gold toilet-paper dispenser and the gold-handled toilet bowl brush.

"It's the oil-for-palace program," he said in a mocking reference to Iraq's alleged misuse of a U.N. oil-for-food program that was supposed to turn oil revenue into humanitarian aid.
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Gotta love the press. "Alleged misuse," when we've found the food stacked rafter high in warehouses, rather than distributed like the Iraqis claimed.

Bring a one sentance resolution to the UNSC. "It is the determination of the UNSC that the motivation for the sanctions on the government of Iraq is no longer operative and the sanctions are therefore lifted". Or something like that. Let Tony Blair write it. Make the rest of them vote. Put them on record. I'm sure we can get a nine vote majority in about a day. Make Russia veto. Let them explain it to the world.

Russia says it will impoverish Iraqis unless Hans Blix resumes inspections. But they really just want their oil money.
The UN failed to condemn Castro for his recent murders & jailings of people who only want to vote. The Human Rights Commision called for...inspections! Castro is smuggling his human rights violations to Venezuela so they won't be found.
The UN has the moral authority of a crack whore. Wait...that's unfair. to crack whores.

The sanctions were against the regime possesion of WMD's. Yes, I think there are WMD's, but also that we will not stop looking - backed by tanks to get through any locked doors - until we are satisfied they are gone.

The regime is gone, or will be in a few days: the WMD's will be verifiably destroyed: the sanctions no longer apply.