Iraq trapped in own prison,
Powell tells Kuwaiti dignitaries
By
Jon R. Anderson
Stars and Stripes
KUWAIT
CITY, Kuwait — Newly appointed Secretary of State and
Gulf War general Colin Powell told a gathering of Kuwaiti
dignitaries Monday that Iraq "stands alone, trapped in
a prison of its own making."
On
hand for the 10th anniversary of Kuwait’s liberation
from Iraq, Powell had little trouble finding agreement for
those words here, but it remains to be seen what success he’ll
have convincing other Arab nations to shore up sanctions against
the pariah nation in his four-day tour through the Middle
East.
"We
want the world to know that our quarrel is not with the Iraqi
people," Powell said. "We look forward to the day
when those people are free and that day will ultimately come."
There
is a growing consensus in the Arab community that sanctions
in place since Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait are not working
and do more to hurt the Iraqi people than hinder Saddam Hussein.
After
visiting Egypt and Israel, Powell is now on his way to Saudi
Arabia, the United States’ strongest Arab ally during
the Gulf War, but a country with flagging support more recently.
Saudi officials refused to allow U.S. planes based there to
launch strikes against Iraq two years ago in Operation Desert
Fox and condemned the recent air strikes around Baghdad.
Also
on Powell’s itinerary is Syria, which opened a oil pipeline
with Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions.
Officially,
Powell has been dispatched to listen to Arab leaders to see
what ideas they have in containing Saddam, while still preventing
harm to his people.
Senior
U.S. military officials say they are comfortable with revising
the restrictions, but one top commander speaking on condition
of anonymity said he hopes that verifiable sanctions on technology
used to develop weapons of mass destruction and military hardware
remain firmly in place.
"We
also still need to keep the no fly zones," that restrict
Iraqi aircraft in both the north and south of the country,
as well no drive zones for Iraqi military in the south, said
the official, who oversees much of the U.S. military in the
region.
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