Global Policy Forum

Archived Articles

US Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup (December 30, 2002)
This Washington Post article discusses the US role in the military buildup of Iraq preceeding the Gulf War. The administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush authorized the sale of poisonous chemicals and deadly biological viruses such as anthrax and bubonic plague.

In Baghdad, Many Insist Americans Would Regret an Invasion (December 30, 2002)
The US seems to believe that the Iraqi people would rally behind a violent effort to oust Saddam Hussein. However, the Iraqis interviewed in this article warn that Iraq's people, worn and angry from years of sanctions, need not support their leader to defend their country. (Los Angeles Times)

Debating Post-Saddam Policy: Hardliners v. Realpolitikers (December 20, 2002)
The Bush administration cannot reach any consensus about the configuration of a post-invasion Iraq. The "neoconservative and unilateralist hawks" suggest a US military occupation similar to that which followed World War II, while the "more internationalist realpolitikers" propose a "short-term, international- and UN-supervised Iraqi administration." (Foreign Policy In Focus)

The Prospect of War (December 19, 2002)
"In the current fury against Saddam Hussein, it is ironic to be reminded how much the United States, as well as Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, has done to build him up; how much those nations cared about his oil and other commercial possibilities, and how little about his ghastly human rights record," writes former UN Undersecretary General Brian Urquhart in this excerpt from the New York Review Books.

Groups Outline Plans for Governing a Post-Hussein Iraq (December 18, 2002)
An Iraqi opposition meeting ends with a call "for a democratic, federal, parliamentary government" in Iraq and a demand that the US let Iraqis take control of the country if the US drives Saddam from power. The group remains divided on several issues and some delegates left in anger, accusing the US of "cooking" the conference. (New York Times)

Bush Approves $92m to Train Iraqi Militia to Take on Saddam (December 11, 2002)
The Hungarian government confirms that it has received a formal request from Washington to organize "military education and training" for up to 5,000 Iraqis on Hungarian territory. The US wants the Iraqis to assist a possible US or international military led government in Iraq. (Guardian)

Bush's Mideast Plan: Conquer and Divide (December 8, 2002)
The Toronto Sun argues that the Bush administration plans a political transformation of the Middle East similar in magnitude to the 1916 Sykes-Picot Treaty in which Britain and France carved up the Ottoman-ruled region. This article also reviews possible scenarios for the future of the Middle East.

Planning for a Self-Inflicted Wound: US Policy to Reshape a Post-Saddam Iraq (December 3, 2002)
Anthony Cordesman at the Republican Center for Strategic and International Studies, advises the US administration to improve the quality of its plans for Iraqi peace. Cordesman warns that the peace process may turn into "a self-inflicted wound based on a series of ‘syndromes' that grow out of ignorance, indifference to Iraq's real needs, and ethnocentricity."

Britain Slams Saddam for Human Rights Abuses (December 2, 2002)
The British government presents a report on human rights abuses carried out as a policy of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Britain has made the dossier, primarily based on NGO reports and intelligence material, public as a further move to make the case for war. (Reuters)

Favored Post-Saddam Leaders Belie Bush's Democracy Rhetoric (November 26, 2002)
While the US administration talks about the need for democracy in the Middle East region, it is also negotiating with Iraqi opposition leaders charged with war crimes and embezzlement. (Foreign Policy in Focus)

US Needs to Screen Iraqi Opposition Allies (November 21, 2002)
Human Rights Watch stresses the need for the United States to "screen its would-be allies in the Iraqi opposition." The warning comes after Danish police brought charges against an opposition leader and former Iraqi general for suspected involvement in war crimes against Kurdish civilians during the Iran-Iraq war.

Setbacks Dealt to Iraqi Opposition in Europe (November 20, 2002)
Iraqi opposition groups once again postpone a US promoted conference on how to govern a post-Saddam Iraq. Disagreements lie in whom to invite, the proportion of delegates for various ethnic and religious groups, and the agenda itself. (New York Times)

US Training Iraqis to Run Post-Saddam Government (November 15, 2002)
The US State Department, planning a "regime change" in Baghdad, is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in training Iraqi exiles, to ensure that Iraq has the required expertise for a rapid and smooth transition. (Independent)

Why Another War? (October, 2002)
This primer by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) gives background information on the Iraq crisis. It analyzes how sanctions have affected the Iraqi people, how Saddam has managed to stay in power, and the driving forces behind the Bush administration's push for regime change.

Rebuilding Iraq: Japan Is No Model (October 17, 2002)
The US plan to install an US-led military government in Iraq, modeled on postwar occupation of Japan, will not work simply because Iraq differs greatly from Japan.(Los Angeles Times)

US Has a Plan to Occupy Iraq, Officials Report (October 11, 2002)
According to the New York Times, the White House is developing a plan to install a US-led military government in Iraq for a year or more while the US and its allies search for weapons and maintain Iraq's oil fields.

Iraq Backgrounder: What Lies Beneath (October 1, 2002)
This International Crisis Group report discusses what will come next in Iraq, with or without a military confrontation. The analysis assesses the current Iraqi regime and the challenges that might emerge in the future.

Human Rights in the Balance (September 25, 2002)
Amnesty International accuses western governments of manipulating information on human rights abuses in Iraq to build its case for war and criticizes the lack of interest in reported human rights violations in Iraq before the Gulf war.

How the US Helped Create Saddam Hussein (September 23, 2002)
The United States, which has supported or at least tolerated Saddam Hussein, is now attempting to oust him. This article exposes key issues of US history and future concerns. (MSNBC)

Unveiled: The Thugs Bush Wants in Place of Saddam (September 22, 2002)
With all the Bush administration's talk about "regime change" for Saddam's brutal reign, the prospects for a peaceful, just, and pro-US Iraqi regime don't look good. This article calls the US's favorite contenders to Saddam's throne "corrupt, feckless and downright dangerous." (Sunday Herald)

Sources of Revenue for Saddam & Sons (September, 2002)
Saddam Hussein and his family are earning more than $2 billion a year through smuggling, contract kickbacks and other means, according to this report from the Coalition for International Justice, based in Washington.

Bush Planned Iraq 'Regime Change' Before Becoming President (September 15, 2002)
The Sunday Herald introduces a US document revealing the Bush cabinet's mentality. The project supports an "international security order in line with American principles and interests."

The Right Way to Change a Regime (August 25, 2002)
In an opinion piece in The New York Times, Former secretary of State James Baker voices reservations about unilateral US military action against Baghdad. Like many public figures and former US officials, Baker argues that the US should first approach the UN for a final resolution authorizing weapons inspections in Iraq, backed by the threat of the force.

Saddam Warns Against Iraq Attack (August 8, 2002)
Saddam Hussein has made a speech warning against an attack on Iraq. Claiming that "peaceful dialogue is the way forward," Hussein has invited UN arms teams to visit the country for talks but the US dismissed the move as "a ploy." (BBC)

The Logic of Empire (August 6, 2002)
George Monbiot criticizes President Bush on his plans to wage war against Iraq and his foreign policy as defiant of international law. Having ripped up all treaties which interfere with its strategic objectives, he claims, "the US is now our foremost enemy. We must begin to treat it as such." (Guardian)

Iraq Is Not a Threat (August 2, 2002)
Former humanitarian aid coordinator for Iraq, Hans Von Sponeck, speaks of his recent visit to Iraq and the image of Iraq given by the US Congress as a "threat." Von Sponeck criticizes the US call on the "axis of evil," which used the 9/11 excuse as "a convenient opportunity to include (…) all those countries and governments that were politically inconvenient to the US" (Socialist Worker)

Jordan Urges Restraint Over Iraq (July 29, 2002)
"King Abdullah of Jordan has warned the US not to take any military action against Iraq." According to the King, an attack on Iraq would "open a Pandora Box while the Israel-Palestinian conflict remained unresolved." (BBC)

Europeans Split With US on Need for Iraq Attack (July 22, 2002)
Arguing that "President Bush's conservative aides have become obsessed about Iraq, while we are obsessed about achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians", Europeans fear America's talk of overthrowing Saddam will undermine the peace efforts in the Middle East. (New York Times)

US Plan for Iraq Is Said to Include Attack on Three Sides (July 4, 2002)
A US military planning document leaked to the press "calls for air, land and sea-based forces to attack Iraq from three directions – north, south and west." Despite opposition from other states, President Bush's plans for an invasion of Iraq seem to be slowly taking shape. (New York Times)

Bush Gives CIA Green Light to Kill Saddam (June 17, 2002)
President Bush has given the CIA the authority to use "lethal force to capture or kill Saddam if acting in self-defense". How an invasion on Iraq with the purpose of killing its head of state could be justified as "self-defense" remains highly questionable. (Guardian)

Iraq Opposition Group Positioning Itself With Washington (June 11, 2002)
"Iraq's only Shia resistance group" has launched timely attacks on "senior Iraqi officials," as the group's leaders meet with US State Department officials this week. Strategic Forcasting reports, "The attacks likely were meant to gain the group some respect at the negotiating table."

US Strategic Options for Iraq: Easier Said than Done (Spring, 2002)
The Washington Quarterly analyzes US policy options toward Iraq offering a patient approach, a moderate approach and a "bold" strategy, each including the costs, benefits and risks associated with each option. The author privileges the patient approach as offering more gain than pain.

Blair Says No Attack on Iraq Without UN Assent (May 10, 2002)
English Prime Minister Tony Blair reassures his Labor Party critics that Britain will not back US military action against Iraq unless "it wins the backing of the United Nations Security Council." (Independent)

US Wants to Oust Saddam Even if He Makes Concessions (May 6, 2002)
The Bush administration will remove Iraqi President Hussein "regardless of what [UN] inspectors do." According to US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, "the US reserves its option to do whatever it believes might be appropriate to see if there can be a regime change." (Guardian)

Try Suing Saddam (March 26, 2002)
The New York Times recommends indicting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for "genocide against the Kurds, along with other crimes." This could be achieved through an international tribunal or the International Court of Justice.

Arabs Don't Want War On Iraq (March 13, 2002)
As the Arab countries "don't want the Americans to package a new war [against Iraq] for them," they hope to distract the US's attention toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire.(Independent)

Russia, France Offer Gauge for Iraq Policy (March 12, 2002)
The US State Department hopes that the weakening support for Iraq by France and Russia can send important signals and induce change in Saddam Hussein's regime. (Boston Globe)

The Wrong Target (March 4, 2002)
Toppling Saddam's regime and preventing him from acquiring weapons of mass destruction are two separate goals. Confusing and mixing the two goals - as the current US administration is - will prove to be dangerous, argues Jessica Matthews. (Washington Post)

Radio Transmitter to Oppose Hussein Wins US Backing (February 28, 2002)
The Bush administration tentatively approves the financing and construction of a radio transmitter to back the Iraqi groups opposing Saddam Hussein.(New York Times)

Iraq Opposition to Get More US Funds (June 14, 2001)
The US State Department will release an additional $6 million to the Iraqi National Congress—an umbrella organization representing Iraq's opposition to Saddam Hussein. (Washington Post)

Police to Investigate Saddam 'War Crimes' (April 25, 2001)
Scotland Yard investigates the possibility of trying Saddam Hussein and Tarik Aziz for war crimes. (BBC)

Iraqis Now Daring to Talk of Life After Hussein (March 22, 2001)
Rumors among Arabic newspapers and the inner circle around Saddam suggest that he is sick. Western sources are skeptical, thinking it is a strategy to weaken sanctions. (New York Times)

US Gives Go-Ahead to Iraqi Opposition (January 14, 2001)
To compensate for the erosion of sanctions on Iraq and their decreasing popularity, Bill Clinton has decided to pump more money into the ineffectual Iraqi opposition group, the Iraqi National Congress. (Washington Post)

Saddam Hussein: The Last Great Tyrant (December 30, 2000)
Robert Fisk of the Independent looks at Saddam's character, his actions, and the West's mistakes in dealing with him. It's not a pretty picture.

Saddam Has the World Bamboozled, but No One Says a Word (September 4, 2000)
A satirical little piece by Jim Hoagland of the Washington Post, who first interviewed Saddam in 1975, touching on the Western silence on Iraqi regime.

Sanctions Curb Iraqi Aggression (August 2, 2000)
Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State, argues that Saddam Hussein rejected the hand held out by the UN Security Council, and purposely worsened the suffering of Iraqi citizens under sanctions. (Korea Herald)

How Does Saddam Hold On? (June/July, 2000)
Ofra Bengio, Middle East expert at Tel Aviv University writes on Saddam Hussein for Foreign Affairs. This extract indicates Bengio's perception that Saddam's power has strengthened from the imposed sanctions. The Iraqi people now depend upon him for their livelihood.

Saddam Outlasts Foes, Keeps Iron Grip 10 Years After Kuwait Invasion (July 21, 2000)
Despite crippling sanctions and alliance bombardment, Saddam is still going strong in Iraq. Iraq's former Ambassador to France said Iraq "is solid enough to face up to the challenges for several years to come." (Agence France Presse)

Who Wants a New Regime in Iraq? (July 3, 2000)
The Iraqi opposition party, the Iraqi National Congress (INC) is receiving empty gestures of support from Washington. Lesson one of Clinton's "let's pretend" school of foreign policy on Iraq "mixes calculated neglect with insincere declaration of commitment to regime change." ( International Herald Tribune )

Iraq Impatient at Lack of OIC Support on Sanctions: Report (June 29, 2000)
There is little support for Iraq from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIS), as the group insists that Iraq fully cooperates with the UN Security Council resolutions. (Agence France Presse)

Iraqi Opposition Vows "Military Force" to Topple Saddam (June 27, 2000)
Leaders of the Iraqi opposition party, the London-based Iraqi National Congress, received a positive vibe from US Vice President to support their cause to overthrow Saddam Hussein. ( Deutsche Presse-Agentur)

Bush Salutes US Air Strikes on Iraq as "Lord's Work" (January 19, 2000)
Former President George Bush visits Kuwait. Tells troops: "We are a moral country and we made a moral statement in January 1991." (Agence France-Presse)

Iraq Under the Bombs (January 3, 2000)
This article from The Nation gives an overview of sanctions policy on Iraq in the past year.