THE GULF WAR: The International Front : Words on the War
“The difference between the Soviet and U.S. plans for ending the war boiled down to ‘reparations’ vs. ‘restitution.’ The Soviets said that U.N. resolutions require no more than restitution--payment of damages to the injured party and a return to the status quo ante. Saddam Hussein would have been able to walk away unbowed, with his army still strong enough to intimidate weaker neighbors. Reparations, what the Bush Administration appears to insist on, are punitive. They imply criminality and are intended to teach a lesson. President Bush’s ‘new world order’ is about compelling an aggressor to admit a wrong. The rule of law requires reparations, not restitution.”
--ALLAN GERSON, former counsel to the American U.N. delegation.
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