There's plenty of medicine available, Mariner. Iraq is at liberty to sell oil for medicine, but Hussein refuses to do it. So whose fault is that?

Suggestions Mariner? "Something must be done" is fine, but knowing what to do - that's the trick. Thing is, all political solutions require that the leaders are elected, or at least can be easily removed. Make life hell for the ppl, let them know that a new leader will solve the problem, and they'll find a new leader. This has failed bcos: (1) Hussein is an amoral psycho, as are his entourage, and any resistance is met with extreme force (eg. poison gas used on the Kurds and Marsh Arabs); and (2) Hussein's convinced the ppl (and some of the rest of the world) that the sanctions aren't his fault.

So what's left is to get rid of Hussein. Would you send in the CIA to assassinate him? Might be nice, but is it legitimate? And what then? Get his son (another psycho) in charge? Or do we kill the son too? Where do you fancy stopping?

And aid-wise, what should the world do? Say "Oh, you're not going to sell your oil, so we'll give you the stuff anyway for free?" All the more oil for him to sell illegally to keep him and his cronies in power.

Gervase, I'd agree with you about Turkey. Not just Kurds - anyone organising trade unions too, and anti-government political organisations. But we're also doing business with China, and their human rights record needs no summary. Bottom line, the political view is that an ethical foreign policy only works as far as it doesn't get in the way of business.

Grab.