Posted by Jeff (24.30.53.181) on November 14, 2001 at 19:49:36:
Joseph K. Knollenberg
11th District, Michigan
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-2211
November 8, 2001
Dear Jeffrey:
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding international sanctions imposed on Iraq. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to express your views with me.
I share your concern over the effects the sanctions have had on innocent Iraqi people, especially young children. I agree we must find a way to get more humanitarian resources into Iraq to address the serious problems these people are forced to face. Unfortunately, Saddam Hussein remain opposed to allowing international weapons into Iraq and continues to force the people of Iraq to suffer immeasurably. Addressing Saddam's continued desire for military aggression while at the same time providing crucial support to the Iraqi people who desperately need our help remains a challenge we must continue to work to overcome.
President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell have taken steps in the right direction to address this problem. With their leadership, the United States has made progress within the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council to reform the sanctions regime in order to eliminate economic sanctions and increase the distribution of humanitarian and economic goods in Iraq. China, France, and the United Kingdom have all agreed to the U.S. reform plan. Russia remains the only permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to oppose this plan and unfortunately has not clearly stated reasons for this opposition. I remain hopeful the reasons for this opposition will be addressed when the Security Council takes up this issue again in December and the Administration's efforts to reform the U.N.'s policy toward Iraq will prove fruitful. While this process proceeds, I will continue to closely monitor the developments and keep your concerns in mind.
Once again, thank you for your e-mail. I value your insight on this important issue and look forward to continuing our dialogue on this or any other matter concerning the federal government.