The people of the region can no more be served by the U.S. and its allies, which have sponsored such butchers as Syria's Assad, Pakistan's Zia and the Shah of Iran, than by Saddam Hussein, himself a product of Western interference.

Given the pernicious nature of U.S. policy in the Gulf, economic sanctions should not even be considered. But some discussions regarding the effects of such sanctions is in order. The sanctions are "working." The infant mortality rate in Iraq has doubled, and there has been a hepatitis outbreak in Baghdad. News of the hungry poor is now reaching the United States.

The first people to suffer from the embargo will be those who have no chance of organizing opposition, such as the rural poor. An embargo is simply a war with casualties on one side, and is as unacceptable as a regular war. If it is within our power to stop such a catastrophe, we must do so immediately.

Some people say that the United States has no business in the Middle East. On the contrary, the United States has nothing but business in the region. Big Business. The support that the United States has given dictators (in this region and all over the world) has not been a mistake or an accident. U.S. foreign policy has systematically served the interests of major U.S. corporations and will continue as long as these corporations control the economy through their investment decisions.

Until we change the way this country is run, U.S. policies toward other countries will not operate according to principles, but according to profits. As long as this is the case, it is our responsibility to oppose U.S. intervention.

Tom Garvey '92 and Alejandro Reuss '92 are members of Students Against War in the Middle East (SAWME).