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 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 rhetoric and reality? How exactly have the combinatin of economic sanctions, international humanitarian aid and limited protection of civilians affected Iraq? What lessons can be drawn from the experience? This is the most carefully documented, comprehensive account of the consequences of intervention in Iraq during the 1990s. It examines not only the record of intervention but also the complicated political context which has shaped international policy and the Iraqi response to it, and which has made events seem so unpredictable.