It has been 10 years since Saddam Hussein foolishly
              invaded Kuwait and the United Nations responded by
              rousting him and slapping sanctions on his rogue regime.
              And what does the world have to show for this policy?
              Virtually nothing, except death and the degradation of
              the health and dignity of innocent people.

              Certainly not the ouster of Hussein, who seems to
              remain firmly in control of his country, ready to let his
              people suffer these horrors to the last Iraqi.

              Human rights and faith-based organizations have long
              charged that the U.S.-supported sanctions, by denying
              sustenance and medicine to innocent people, are
              contributing to the deaths of thousands of Iraqis every
              week. That message now seems to be gaining some
              credence with political leaders, but it has barely drawn a
              whisper in the campaign for president.

              Neither Al Gore nor George W. Bush has had much to
              say on this, probably because to acknowledge the failure
              of the sanctions would be to acknowledge the failure of
              two presidential administrations, that of George Bush,
              who supported the imposition of the sanctions, and Bill
              Clinton, who has maintained them.

              Foreign affairs seems to be getting short shrift anyway
              this election season, but this matter is one that's costing
              lives and damaging America's credibility. The sanctions
              have divided the members of the UN Security Council
              and contributed to animosity toward the U.S. in the
              Arab world.

              If Bush and Gore won't re-evaluate Iraq policy, or even
              bring it up during the campaign, it's a safe bet that
              nothing will change when one of them steps into the Oval
              Office. That's sad news, because it is time America took
              charge of its policy and ended this tragedy.

              By UN estimates, more than 1 million Iraqis, most of
              them children, have perished in the last 10 years as a
              direct or indirect result of the economic embargo.

              To be sure, the responsibility for those deaths falls on
              the shoulders of Saddam Hussein, who has opted to
              cling to power and shift the awful burden of the
              sanctions on his people. But after ten years of a policy
              that has contributed to so much suffering and failed to
              shake Hussein, the U.S. can't stand pat. It should agree
              to a lifting of the economic sanctions, enforce the military
              arms embargo, and let Hussein know that if he attacks
              his own people or his neighbors again, America will
              respond with massive retaliation.

              It is in the world's interest to keep Hussein in check, but
              since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the threat of
              military reprisal has been far more effective than the
              work of economic sanctions. UN arms inspectors have
              been expelled from the country for 20 months, while
              Hussein circumvents the embargo and buys arms with
              pirated oil. If this is not working, why continue the
              policy?

              Yes, Iraq could lift its own burden by complying with
              UN disarmament resolutions. But Hussein won't comply,
              and it doesn't appear he's going anywhere soon.

              Ten years. That's enough. It's time for the U.S., and the
              UN, to devise a policy that will contain Hussein without
              decimating a generation of Iraqis.