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Article: A peace worse than poison. (Iran-Iraq ceasefire)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 23, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When a war goes on for eight years it eventually becomes just another part of the environment. That explains the surprise caused by Iran's announcement on July 18th that it was at last ready to accept the ceasefire called for a full year ago by a resolution of the United Nations Security Council. Two days later, on July 20th, Mr Javier Perez de Cuellar, the UN secretary-general, announced that he was sending a team to negotiate a formal end to the fighting.
All wars end. The wonder of the Gulf war is that it went on for so long. The Iraqis started the war in 1980 in the hope of scoring a quick victory over a neighbour weakened by the overthrow of the Shah, but ...