At the end of the *first* Gulf War, the outlines of an alternative approach to Iraq WAS presented to the Security Council. Google "Ahtisaari Report" and "1991" to get a flavor (not the 2003 Report after the bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq). The plan was put forward (perhaps not assertively enough) by then Secretary-General Perez de Quellar with the participation of every relevant organization under the UN umbrella and it called for a humanitarian reconstruction of Iraq, as as part of a negotiated process to reach a modus vivendi with the government.
It was based on a UN Mission to Iraq by then U.N. Under-Secretary General Maarti Ahtisaari (later to become President of Finland). Leading the opposition was then U.S. Assistant Secretary of State (wait for it).....John Bolton.
One of those turning points of history. 1991 was one of those years. Paul
Doug H., responding to Steven R. writes:
>On Nov 19, 2006, at 1:37 PM, Steven L. Robinson wrote:
>
>>Go back 15 years to 1991, to the eve of the Gulf War and recall
>>many - perhaps most - of the liberal wing of the anti-war movement
>>took the view that "we should let sanctions work."
>
>I thought that was the liberal wing of the imperialist movement.
>
>Doug