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News Tip: Duke Professor Says Ousting Saddam Would Reduce Mideast Tensions

Removing the Iraqi leader would "radically reduce" threats to Iran and other Middle East countries, says political science professor Joseph Grieco

 

Toppling Saddam Hussein's dictatorship would allow the Iraqi people to move toward self-government and lead to more peaceful relations with their neighbors, says Duke University political science professor Joseph M. Grieco.

"The removal of Saddam will surely reduce military tensions in the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East, contributing to political stability and perhaps medium-term liberalization in that area," Grieco says.

Perhaps the most important stabilizing consequence of Saddam's ouster would be to foil his government's attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, said Grieco, author of "Cooperation Among Nations: Europe, America and Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade" and co-author of "State Power and World Markets: The International Political Economy."

"Those weapons give Saddam a realistic chance of capturing control of the world's petroleum resources," Grieco warns. "That would be a disaster not just for world prosperity and development, but also for international peace. It must be prevented by any means necessary."

Echoing remarks made by President Bush on Wednesday, Grieco says, "Reformists throughout the Middle East would benefit by Saddam's removal, including Israelis and Palestinians.

"The removal of Saddam would radically reduce possible threats to Iran, and the more benign security environment would strengthen the position of the reformists in Iran," Grieco says. "The development of a more moderate Iran could decrease support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the West Bank and Gaza. If the U.S. could then encourage necessary concessions by Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might be more readily resolved."

Grieco can be reached for additional comment at (919) 660-4315 or (919) 929-3965. His e-mail address is grieco@duke.edu.

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