WASHINGTON: I had two days until departure and a million things to do. I hoped I could quickly refill a prescription. Then the pharmacist asked me, "Sister, where are you going?"

"Iraq," I replied, knowing that it would now take me 20 minutes to get out of the store. His eyes widened. He asked, "Why? Is that allowed?"

"No," I responded truthfully, adding that UNICEF is reporting the death of 5,000 children each month in Iraq. His face registered shock.

I went on to explain that I would travel with six nuns and one priest from my worldwide Dominican order. I explained how I spent the morning filling my suitcases with medical supplies. "The situation over there is desperate."

He posed another question: "Why don't we know about this?" I explained about the 140 Dominican nuns and priests, many native Iraqis, who have recounted this carnage through the internal communication network of the order. Then his final question, "Sister, will you come back and tell us the truth about what is happening in Iraq?"

I think the truth is: too many innocent people have suffered too long. It's time to lift unconditionally the United Nations sanctions imposed against Iraq.

The Iran-Iraq war is the first reason. A million young men died. It's common knowledge that the US armed both sides in this war. A Reagan administration official told The New York Times, "We wanted to avoid victory by both sides." Henry Kissinger was quoted as saying, "I hope they kill each other" and "Too bad they both can't lose."

The second reason is the Persian Gulf war. By the end of the 42-day assault, the US press reported the tonnage of high-explosive bombs exceeded the combined Allied air offensive of World War II.

About 110,00 sorties had dropped 88,500 tons of bombs, the equivalent of 7.5 atomic bombs the size that incinerated Hiroshima. Our aircraft attacked Iraq on an average of once every 30 seconds.All of this violated commonly accepted "rules of engagement," including the UN Charter, provisions of the Hague and Geneva conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even the laws of armed conflict cited in several of our own military-service manuals.

Taking responsibility for the consequences of the embargo is the third reason. Our delegation visited hospitals, schools, orphanages, camps for displaced people. We met with relief workers, a UN official, the papal nuncio and the archbishop of Basra. All repeated the same fact: the sanctions are killing us.

Coincidentally, the day we left, the International Committee of the Red Cross released a new report: Iraq: A Decade of Sanctions. It notes, "Deteriorating living conditions, inflation and low salaries make people's everyday lives a continuing struggle, while food shortages, lack of medicines and clean drinking water threaten the survival of the people."

Finally, it is time to call it as it is. Our policy toward Iraq has more to do with oil than it does with the actions of Saddam Hussein. Former national security advisers Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft said: "Every president since Nixon has recognized that ensuring Persian Gulf security and stability is a vital US interest. It is imperative that all parties understand an important strategic reality: the US is in the Persian Gulf to stay."

I need to get back to my pharmacist. I want to tell him it is time for an unconditional lifting of the sanctions. More than 1.5 million people have already died. No misconduct by the government of Iraq can justify the continuing deaths of infants, pregnant and nursing women, the chronically ill and the elderly. What's left of our national honour is at stake.-Dawn/LAT-WP News Service (c) Newsday.