Secretary Powell’s call for “smart sanctions” against Iraq is long overdue, and can help to correct
a critical weakness in the Clinton Administration's foreign policy. It was clear by the mid-1990s
that broad economic sanctions were not going to bring down Saddam Hussein, halt Iraqi efforts
to proliferate, or cripple the ability of Iraq’s military and security forces to repress the Kurds, put
down Iraq’s Shi’ite opposition, and threat Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It was equally clear that
they continued to impoverish the ordinary Iraqi, and block Iraq’s economic development.