Lawmaker Appeals for Innocent Iraqis
By HASSAN ABDULWAHAB, Associated Press Writer
<LU_ANNOTATE>
   BASRA, Iraq (AP) A U.S. lawmaker assessing the impact of U.N.
sanctions on Iraq said Wednesday it is important not only to force
Baghdad to give up its weapons of mass destruction but also to do
more to ease the hardships on ordinary Iraqis.

   Rep. Tony Hall, D-Ohio, did not call for a lifting of sanctions
imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, but said the
United Nations should make sure that sanctions do not hurt innocent
Iraqis.

   "It was very, very important" to compel Iraq to rid itself of
weapons of mass destruction so that "it cannot use or export them
to other countries," he told Associated Press Television News.

   But he insisted the international community can do a much better
job in helping Iraq deal with its economic and health problems.

   One way would be to speed up the flow of health supplies and
other urgent commodities to the country under a U.N. humanitarian
program, he said.
</LU_ANNOTE WC = 161>
   Iraq says the United States and Britain hold up delivery of
needed supplies, using their clout in the United Nations. The U.S.
government says it wants to ensure that Iraq is not buying items
that appear to be humanitarian in nature but that could be used for
making weapons.

