Political Quotes

“I don't have time to go into that in depth, but let me remind my colleagues of a few things. One, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 passed in 1991 at the end of the Persian Gulf War requires that international economic sanctions, including an embargo on the sale of oil from Iraq, remain in place until Iraq discloses and destroys its weapons of mass destruction programs and capabilities and undertakes unconditionally never to resume such activities. But the teeth in Resolution 687 have effectively been pulled out one-by-one with the introduction and then continued expansion of the so-called oil-for-food exception to the sanctions: In 1995, UNSCR 986 allowed Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil every 6 months. Iraq produced 1.2 million barrels per day in 1997. In 1997, UNSCR 1153 doubled the offer to $5.2 billion in oil every 6 months. Iraq is now producing 2.5 million barrels of oil. In 1999, United States, France, and Saudi Arabia will offer varying plans on removing the limit on how much oil Iraq can sell and for what purpose. This means that Iraq's oil production of 2.5 million barrels per day equals--their production now equals--the prewar production levels in the year preceding Desert Storm. Iraq's export earnings total $10.4 billion, with 95 percent attributed to oil, which is Iraq's only significant identifiable cash flow. Iraq's imports that same year were only $6.6 billion.”