Have sanctions restrained Iraqs weapons development program?
In his State of the Union address president Bush claimed that “nothing to date has restrained him [Saddam Hussein] from his pursuit of these weapons-not economic sanctions, not isolation from the civilized world, not even cruise missile strikes on his military facilities.”19 In reality, sanctions have been successful in blocking specific Iraqi attempts to import specialized materials and goods that could be used for developing prohibited weapons. A number of the weapons-related goods mentioned in the Powell presentation were intercepted before entering Iraq. Many of Saddam Hussein’s attempts to acquire prohibited technologies have been blocked by international sanctions. • Iraq failed in repeated attempts to import specialized aluminum tubes. Iraq also failed in attempts to purchase vacuum tubes, a magnet production line, a large filament winding machine, fluorine gas and other goods that could have potential nuclear weapons-related applications.20 According to the September 2002 Briti
