I don't think that's accurate. First, Saddam could have opened up Iraq and been transparent and the people wouldn't have had to go through the whole sanctioning bit. Second, and this is important - Saddam hoarded the resources that WERE available for himself and cronies which is why the shortages were so devestating to the general population. Even with sanctions its not true that no material supplies were coming into Iraq, only that Saddam was not allowing them to be distributed to the general populace. I don't think you can say he wasn't responsible for that.
I laid a portion of the blame directly on Saddam, because he was hoarding those resources. With or without sanctions he was corrupt and people would have had some things denied from Saddam. But I don't believe the shortages would have been as short without the sanctions. There weren't the same deaths from the same causes prior to the sanctions.
Responsible, yes, but there is no way that you could claim that this is the same thing as Saddam lining people up and having them executed, nor is it anything like his gassing of the Kurds in the '80s.
and using that logic if there were no sanctions and we allowed iraq to buy as many supplies as they could buy there would be enough available for everyone.
Yeah, I agree. But I think it does dispute the claim that Iraqis weren't dying because of Saddam - not getting to his continued executions (100s a year). Not so since there is no reason to believe he wouldn't have continued to choke the Shia's, for example. Ultimately the blame lays with Saddam. Contending as you do that its the UN's fault is like saying someone wouldn't be in jail if society didn't punish crime - so its society's fault the crime was committed. Further, that option then reintroduces the prospect of a militarized Iraq and the problems that entails.
you cannot reasonable assume that the same number of deaths especially of children would have occured without the sanctions.
I can't reasonably assume the same number of deaths from sanctions. I can reasonable assume a lot of deaths from the same conditions (namely material starvation) in the populations Saddam didn't like, and I can reasonably assume a lot of deaths by direct action that didn't happen because of sanctions as typified by the Saddam direct action that slaughtered 60/80,000 shiites in '91. And? Attempting to lay blame on the UN instead of Saddam is just ridiculous. Such a position leaves the international community with no recourse - no sanctions, no forceable changes. Again its like blaming the legislature because someone committed a crime. If there wasn't a law, for cryin out loud, then they wouldn't be in jail! That's absurd.
