West Asia At War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games

by Talmiz Ahmad

But despite there being no invasion, Iraq’s ordeal did not end. The US’s intention was to obtain regime change, but without the use of invading military forces. It believed that subjecting the Iraqi people to the severest possible sanctions would encourage an uprising from within. Thus, with the help of a series of UNSC resolutions, Iraq was subjected to wide-ranging sanctions that denied it the ability to sell its oil and restricted imports. These sanctions were backed by the policy of ‘dual containment’ and two ‘no-fly-zones’ – one above the 36th parallel and the other below the 32nd parallel – in which Iraqi military aircraft could not fly; this was to protect the Kurds and Shia, respectively, from Saddam’s attacks. ‘Dual containment’ emerged from the US view that, instead of attempting to balance Iraq and Iran against each other, both should be viewed as ‘significant threats’ to American interests in West Asia. This idea was developed by US diplomat and foreign policy analyst, Martin Indyk, in 1993, when he was in the National Security Council. He argued that Iraq was a ‘criminal regime’, while Iran too posed challenges to US interests due to its ‘assassination and terrorism’ across the globe, its hostility to the Israel–Palestine peace process, and its backing for Hamas and Hezbollah. In terms of the ‘dual containment’ policy, both countries were subjected to stringent sanctions: Iran was isolated economically and denied technology transfers, while Iraq was subjected ...