United States’ Foreseeability, Awareness and Knowledge of the Consequences of the Sanctions Against Iraq
United States’ Foreseeability, Awareness and Knowledge of the Consequences of the Sanctions Against Iraq
Elias Davidsson
2004
Introduction
In order to determine to which extent individual leaders who imposed and maintained economic sanctions against Iraq can be held responsible for the adverse consequences of their acts, including massive child mortality, it is important to determine the extent to which these persons had been aware of the foreseeable consequences of their decisions and informed about such consequences as the sanctions unfolded. The question of knowledge (or awareness) is an important element in determining the existence or absence of a culpable intent, particularly when an actor denies having intended the adverse consequences of his acts. A general, though rebuttable, presumption in law is that a person intends the foreseeable consequences of his acts. As will be seen below, the US administration possessed adequate data to predict the adverse consequences of the sanctions on Iraq before they were imposed, was informed of the consequences as they unfolded, and was kept informed on these consequences all along the sanctions’ period. Not only was the US administration aware of these consequences, but it was determined to cause severe hardships in Iraq, as a means to force the compliance of the Iraqi government with the will of the U.S. administration, as reflected in Security Council resolutions. The question whether other governments shared the U.S. administration’s foreseeability, awareness and knowledge of the consequences of the Iraq sanctions – and the same intent to cause hardships – will not be dealt with in the present study.
Sub-headings
1. Knowledge as a mental element in criminal law
2. The applicability of the notion of foreseeability, awareness and knowledge to the imposition of economic sanctions against Iraq
(a) Foreknowledge: The period before the imposition of the Iraq sanctions
(b) Members of Congress knew what consequences could be expected from the sanctions on Iraq
(c) The U.S. administration was informed on the consequences of the Iraq sanctions during the entire sanctions period
(d) U.S. leaders acknowledged the causality between the sanctions and the humanitarian situation in Iraq
3. Concluding observations
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