Invisible War
eBook - PDF

Invisible War

The United States and the Iraq Sanctions

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Invisible War

The United States and the Iraq Sanctions

About this book

The economic sanctions imposed on Iraq from 1990 to 2003 were the most comprehensive and devastating of any established in the name of international governance. The sanctions, coupled with the bombing campaign of 1991, brought about the near collapse of Iraq's infrastructure and profoundly compromised basic conditions necessary to sustain life.

In a sharp indictment of U.S. policy, Joy Gordon examines the key role the nation played in shaping the sanctions, whose harsh strictures resulted in part from U.S. definitions of "dual use" and "weapons of mass destruction," and claims that everything from water pipes to laundry detergent to child vaccines could produce weapons. Drawing on internal UN documents, confidential minutes of closed meetings, and interviews with foreign diplomats and U.S. officials, Gordon details how the United States not only prevented critical humanitarian goods from entering Iraq but also undermined attempts at reform; unilaterally overrode the UN weapons inspectors; and manipulated votes in the Security Council. In every political, legal, and bureaucratic domain, the deliberate policies of the United States ensured the continuation of Iraq's catastrophic condition.

Provocative and sure to stir debate, this book lays bare the damage that can be done by unchecked power in our institutions of international governance.

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Yes, you can access Invisible War by Joy Gordon in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Middle Eastern History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
INVISIBLE 
WAR
60
determine 
its 
duration, 
as 
well 
as 
impose 
its 
will 
in 
many 
regards 
on 
the 
implementation 
of 
the 
sanctions 
by 
the 
Security 
Council’s 
661 
Commit-
tee. 
This 
was 
the 
case 
even 
in 
the 
face 
of 
reluctance 
or 
outright 
opposi-
tion 
by 
some 
or 
even 
most 
of 
the 
members 
of 
the 
Security 
Council. 
The 
procedural 
maneuvering 
of 
the 
United 
States, 
along 
with 
measures 
such 
as 
vetoing 
food 
shipments, 
were 
all 
directed 
toward 
the 
same 
outcome: 
doing 
as 
much 
damage 
as 
possible 
to 
Iraq’s 
economy, 
in 
every 
regard, 
however 
indiscriminate 
it 
might 
be.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. List of Abbreviations
  7. Chapter 1. The Policy of Containment
  8. Chapter 2. How the Sanctions Worked
  9. Chapter 3. The Influence of the United States
  10. Chapter 4. The Problem of Holds
  11. Chapter 5. The Magnitude of the Catastrophe
  12. Chapter 6. Tensions at the United Nations
  13. Chapter 7. The Role of the Iraqi Government
  14. Chapter 8. Congress and the Sanctions
  15. Chapter 9. The Oil for Food Scandal
  16. Chapter 10. Inside the U.S. Policy
  17. Chapter 11. International Law and the Sanctions
  18. Chapter 12. The Moral and Political Questions
  19. Notes
  20. Acknowledgments
  21. Bibliography
  22. Index