A Roman Catholic bishops' organization said Wednesday it had asked the Bush administration to make sure the trade embargo against Iraq does not cover essential food and medicine for civilians. ``The moral justification for our intervention requires that we maintain the distinction between the Iraqi regime and ordinary and vulnerable Iraqi citizens,'' said a letter to Secretary of State James A. Baker III from the chairman of the U.S. Catholic Bishops's Committe on International policy. ``We urge that in the implementation of the embargo and other sanctions against Iraq the utmost care and sensitivity be exercised so that innocent civilians are not deprived of those essentials for the maintenance of life, i.e., food and medicines,'' wrote the committee chairman, Archbishop Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles. A United Nations sanctions committee could not agree on what kind of food aid to allow into Iraq and occupied Kuwait. Most of the delegates want to allow shipments only to foreigners and children, while Cuba and Yemen called for a broader resolution allowing in food to all civilians. Bush has said the United States favors ``humanitarian'' food and medical shipments but has not spelled out what that should mean.
