"Saddam's goal is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed"

In this quote, Madeleine Albright, who worked as the United States Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, is articulating U.S. policy towards Iraq during the late 1990s. The backdrop of her declaration is the period following the Gulf War, where Iraq, under the management of Saddam Hussein, went through stringent United Nations (U.N.) sanctions aimed at dismantling its capacity to produce weapons of mass damage (WMDs). The sanctions were intended to hinder Iraq's pursuit of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in order to ensure local and global security.

Albright's declaration reflects the broader global neighborhood's apprehension about Saddam Hussein's intents. The U.S. and its allies believed that Saddam was attempting to exploit diplomatic channels to raise these sanctions, while clandestinely continuing to establish WMDs. The double focus on keeping and boosting these programs highlighted continuous concerns about Iraq's non-compliance with U.N. resolutions which mandated disarmament.

Her quote encapsulates the company stance taken by the U.S. government against Saddam's program. The repeating of "we can not, we must not, and we will not let him succeed" underscores the decision and resolve of the U.S. to block any attempts by Saddam to bypass or weaken the sanctions without fulfilling responsibilities relating to disarmament. This resolute language symbolizes a dedication to active prevention and enforcement of worldwide agreements, showing a wider technique to preserve international security architecture and deter the expansion of WMDs.

Albright's words also reveal the complexities of international diplomacy at the time, where multilateral efforts were essential to implement compliance and where any leniency or indecision could have been perceived as a weakness, possibly emboldening regimes pursuing armament in infraction of worldwide standards. The quote is emblematic of the wider security difficulties of the post-Cold War period and highlights the U.S.'s function as an international enforcer of order and non-proliferation.