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In what passes for a debate on the looming war on Iraq, advocates of war
frequently accuse us of having no alternative - and then quickly
move on to the next topic before we have a chance to answer.
There are alternatives to war. Briefly :
1. Continue with weapons inspections. If he is hiding WMD,
he can not develop them or deploy them while he is moving them around
so that they cannot be found. If the aerial surveillance from satellites
is as good as is claimed, sooner or later, they will be found.
2. Add in UN Human Rights Inspectors to go round his prisons,
and in areas where ethnic cleansing is suspected to be taking place.
Build up their powers, in response to their findings.
3. Channel imports of food and medicines into Iraq through the
Iraqi Opposition parties.
In doing so, they will
· win hearts and minds in the population that receives their
service.
· Diminish the authority of the Ba'ath party and Saddam Hussein
· Learn the arts of administration and co-operation - a lesson
that the Iraqi Opposition urgently needs to learn
4. Install an Index of Governance into the UN Charter, which
will create a league table of human rights abusers, of militarism
and other unwanted State characteristics, with a sliding scale of
diplomatic and economic privileges that will automatically put unpleasant
regimes at a disadvantage, and will reward any steps towards improvements
in performance. [more on
this].
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