Throughout the 1990s Iraq has been the target not only of military attack but of the most draconian and protracted economic embargo ever imposed by the international community. In the immediate aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War the embargo was accompanied by an effort to provide aid to the Iraqi people and to protect them against human rights abuses, an initiative that seemed to break new ground in providing protection for civilians in a situation of conflict. Yet the outcome of the international community's efforts has fallen short of the promise. Why has there been such a large gap between the...