Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 1, 1991                   TAG: 9103010714
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SANCTIONS

Last year, he vetoed a bill that would have imposed sanctions on countries and companies that develop or use chemical or biological weapons. Saddam Hussein and his suppliers would have been hit with the sanctions; the Iraqi was, in fact, a principal target.

But at the time - right up to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait last August - Bush was more interested in cultivating Saddam's friendship than in reducing his ability to wage war with chemical arms. They're no menace, the administration argued.

Now, somewhat ironically, they may not be. His chemical and biological arms industry has been destroyed. For whatever reason, these weapons weren't used against the allies. Everyone's thankful for that.

Still, Saddam had built up an arsenal, and his threat to use them against civilians as well as U.S. soldiers has perhaps provided the needed lesson. Awful scenes linger in memory - of Israelis fearing chemical attack, donning gas masks and sealing themselves in their homes at night.

Policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations allowed Iraq to buy advanced U.S. technology that could be used in its biological and chemical arms program. Now Bush is more concerned about preventing their proliferation.

The administration reportedly is planning restrictions on exports of commonly used chemicals and manufacturing equipment that can be used to make chemical weapons.

Congress also is considering again the sanctions bill. The president could help mitigate previous wrongs by approving the legislation.