Safety First? The prospect of U.S. military action against Saddam Hussein raises the specter of extensive disruption of a population in Iraq that America has been trying to help. Since the country was partitioned following Hussein's war with Kuwait in 1991, the Gulf War allies have enforced a semi-autonomous region in the north administered by the local Kurds. A no-fly zone patrolled by U.S. and allied warplanes keeps them safe from the government in Baghdad, which attacked them with poison gas as well as conventional weapons. Most of the Kurds' food other than that raised by individuals for personal consumption comes through the U.N.-mandated oil-for-food program, under which Hussein's government is allowed to sell enough oil to meet the country's humanitarian needs. Millennium-N. Iraq and other relief agencies report that 50 percent of the caloric intake of most households comes from the U.N. food ration. In some, it reaches 90 percent. Military intervention would disrupt the ration system and precipitate a humanitarian crisis the international community would be compelled to confront. This may be an unavoidable cost of the war on terror, but it's one that can be addressed before the bullets begin to fly. According to a report this week, it is. Major relief agencies are quietly moving large stores of supplies from eastern Iran, where they were stored for the benefit of refugees from Afghanistan, to the west, near the border with Iraq. Bill Koops ============================================================== (c) 2002 Millennium Relief & Development Services, vol. 2 no. 25 'Insight' is a publication of MRDS to interpret current events in light of the experience of members of our international network. 'Insight' archives and other information can be found on our website. 'Insight' may be freely copied with this citation. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, simply reply and request to be removed. Millennium RDS, 5116 Bissonnet #358, Bellaire, TX 77401-4007 Tel: (713)961-5645 Fax: (713)961-5735 www.mrds.org insight@mrds.org. ==============================================================