From: Pat Fallon (pfallon@ptd.net)
Date: Mon Sep 30 2002 - 08:52:35 MDT
> For those interested, following is an article relating to the IRAQ
> sanctions and their consequences. Opponents of the sanctions site an
often
> heard statement that these sanctions have led to the death of over
1,000,000
> children. Osama Bin Laden in his 10/7 videotaped message stated that
every
> day US sanctions cause the death of 5,000 Iraqi children under the age of
5.
> Proponents of the sanctions assert that these numbers are greatly
> exaggerated, if not outright lies. The truth seems to lie somewhere in
the
> middle.
Good point. But as the article you cited concluded:
"The Truth is Bad Enough..."
"This means that, on average, between August 1990 and March 1998, every
month saw deaths as a result of the embargo of around 1850 children under
five. This means that, on the average, every day more than 60 children
died. This is a horrendous toll and there has been no need to inflate it to
12,000 or 6,000, or 5,000 a month in the way the Iraqi regime has done, and
damaging in the process its own credibility, and that of the humanitarian
organizations."
Ultimately, Garfield argued, sanctions played an undeniably important role.
"Even a small number of documentable excess deaths is an expression of a
humanitarian disaster, and this number is not small," he concluded. "[And]
excess deaths should...be seen as the tip of the iceberg among damages to
occur among under five-year-olds in Iraq in the 1990s....The humanitarian
disaster which has occurred in Iraq far exceeds what may be any reasonable
level of acceptable damages according to the principles of discrimination
and proportionality used in warfare...."
There is evidence that the U.S. government intentionally used sanctions
against Iraq to degrade the country's water
supply after the Gulf War. The United States knew the cost that civilian
Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway.
One document entitled "Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities," dated January
22, 1991, is quite straightforward in how sanctions will prevent Iraq from
supplying clean water to its citizens. It begins, "Iraq depends on importing
specialized equipment and some chemicals to purify its water supply, most of
which is heavily mineralized and frequently brackish to saline. With no
domestic sources of both water treatment replacement parts and some
essential chemicals, Iraq will continue attempts to circumvent United
Nations Sanctions to import these vital commodities. Failing to secure
supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of the
population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not epidemics, of
disease." The document later continues, "Iraq could try convincing the
United Nations or individual countries to exempt water treatment supplies
from sanctions for humanitarian reasons. It probably also is attempting to
purchase supplies by using some sympathetic countries as fronts. If such
attempts fail, Iraqi alternatives are not adequate for their national
requirements" (U.S. Department of Defense, January 1991).
Other DIA documents confirm that the U.S. government was not only aware of
the devastation of the sanctions, but was, in fact, monitoring their
progress. The first in a lengthy series of documents entitled "Disease
Information" is a document whose heading reads "Subject: Effects of Bombing
on Disease Occurrence in Baghdad." The document states, "Increased incidence
of diseases will be attributable to degradation of normal preventive
medicine, waste disposal, water purification/distribution, electricity, and
decreased ability to control disease outbreaks. Any urban area in Iraq that
has received infrastructure damage will have similar problems." The document
then itemizes the likely disease outbreaks, noting which in particular will
affect children (U.S Department of Defense, January 1991).
A second DIA document, "Disease Outbreaks in Iraq" from February 21, 1991
writes, "Conditions are favorable for communicable disease outbreaks,
particularly in major urban areas affected by coalition bombing." It
continues, "Infectious disease prevalence in major Iraqi urban areas
targeted by coalition bombing (Baghdad, Basrah) undoubtedly has increased
since the beginning of Desert Storm... Current public health problems are
attributable to the reduction of normal preventive medicine, waste disposal,
water purification and distribution, electricity, and the decreased ability
to control disease outbreaks." Similar to the preceding document, it
itemizes the likely outbreaks, paying close attention to which will affect
children (U.S. Department of Defense, February 1991).
The third document, written March 15, 1991 and entitled "Medical Problems in
Iraq," states, "Communicable diseases in Baghdad are more widespread than
usually observed during this time of the year and are linked to the poor
sanitary conditions (contaminated water supplied and improper sewage
disposal) resulting from the war. According to a United Nations children's
Fund (UNICEF) / World Health Organization report, the quantity of potable
water is less than 5 percent of the original supply, there are no
operational water and sewage treatment plants, and the reported incidence of
diarrhea is four times above normal levels. Additionally, respiratory
infections are on the rise. Children particularly have been affected by
these diseases" (U.S. Department of Defense, March 1991).
Pat Fallon
pfallon@ptd.net
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