The Terrorism Of War And Occupation
By Ghali Hassan
26 October, 2004
Countercurrents.orgWith all the pretexts for the war and genocidal sanctions against Iraq now proved to be fabricated lies, it is not surprising to see Western media and Western pundits adopted their moral mantra that, "the War was moral", because it removed a dictator and the US-British imposed genocidal sanctions. Today, almost two years after the end of the War, the Iraqi people are far worse than before the War. Thousands of civilians have died needlessly because of the US-British immoral and brutal policy against the Iraqi people
At the end of the War, the US and the British governments embarked on deliberate propaganda campaign to sell the "benefit" of the war to the world. The pro-war media and politicians, who found themselves called "deceptive liars" by their own population, justify their crimes by re-inventing the fantasy of "moral duty".
Since 1991, the US, Britain and their allies in the UN have misled the world about Iraq weapons of mass destructions (WMD) in order to continue the genocidal sanctions and wage wars against the Iraqi people. According to several credible reports, including the UNICEF report, the US-British sponsored sanctions and wars against Iraq have killed more than 2 million Iraqi civilians, a third of them were children under the age of five. The health and education systems of Iraq were deliberately targeted for destruction.
The UN own report stated that before the Gulf War, "Iraq had an extensive national health care network. Primary care services were available to 97% of the urban population and 71% of the rural population". Every Iraqi citizen had the right to free health care provided by the government.
Since the US War on Iraq, more Iraqi children are malnourished and fewer Iraqi children are protected from infectious diseases, stated the new UNICEF report. The report added that since the War on Iraq there has been an increase in the incidence of infectious diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria, polio, and hepatitis resulting from the destruction of Iraq's infrastructure. Drugs and medical equipments are in short supply today than before the War.
The War and the Occupation have increased the number of patients and victims and put pressure on the health system. Furthermore, lack of drinking water supply and sanitation has added a much bigger problem on the health system, and contributed to an alarming increase in the under-five mortality. In addition to the destruction of the Iraqi health system, the US-British sponsored sanctions and wars against the Iraqi people have destroyed Iraq's education system.
According to UNESCO fact sheet on Iraq released on 28 March 2003, "Iraq used to have one of the finest school systems in the Middle East, with over 100% Gross Enrolment Rate for primary schooling and high literacy, both of men and women". It stated that, "[t]he Higher Education, especially the
scientific and technological institutions, were of an international standard, staffed by high quality personnel". Until 1989 Iraq had been allocating 5% of its budget to education. This is higher than the maximum rate in developing countries, which stands at 3.8% (UNESCO).The recent UNICEF-supported survey stated that since March 2003, over 700 primary schools -a third of those in Baghdad - had been damaged by bombing with more than 200 burned and over 3, 000 looted. "The current system is effectively denying children a decent education," said the survey.
Prior to the 1991 US Gulf War and the genocidal sanctions, Iraqis enjoyed one of the highest rankings in the Developing World in terms of the Human Development Index, which measures nutrition, health care, housing, education, and other human needs.
The greatest and most vulnerable victims of the US War on Iraq are the Iraqi children. The effect of the War on the country's 17 million children has been devastating. "When you factor in the loss of education and psycho-social trauma, there is no question that war takes its greatest toll on children", said UNICEF chief Ms. Carol Bellamy. Iraqi children are living with the nightmares of daily US bombardments of towns and neighbourhoods. As a result of years long Western terrorism, a generation of Iraq's children have been lost.
The Saddam regime may have gone, and the world - Iraq in particular - is far worse for it, because the War was in violation of world peace and international law. Today, the new tyranny of the US Occupation, and the relic of genocidal sanctions are worse in comparison with the Stalinist dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.The Iraq of today is a state of chaos, without a functioning health or education system, let alone a security system to protect the population. It is a catastrophe. The war was unnecessary. Saddam was on his way out. He had very little support within the army and the Ba'ath Party.
The "new" Iraq designed by George Bush and Tony Blair is the Iraq of kidnappings and beheadings. It is the Iraq of suicide bombings and hostages takings. Hundreds of doctors, professors and scientists have been assassinated. Iraqi professionals are deliberately targeted. Like the looting of the nation, these crimes are of no interest to the Occupation Authority. There are more Iraqis leaving the country than at any time in the past. Over one thousand academics have left the country and more have been
threatened to leave. Iraqis of the Christian faith are fleeing Iraq en masse.George Bush should be ashamed of himself when he said: "Freedom is on the March". What kind of freedom was George Bush talking about? Freedom for US and British soldiers to torture and murder Iraqi civilians at ease in complete violations of international law and disregard to human rights.
The US War on Iraq was an act of terrorism. It was illegal and in violations of international treaties. It has accelerated the misery of the Iraqi people. George Bush and Tony Blair should be indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The major reasons for the invasion and occupation of Iraq are: support for Israel's genocidal policy against the Palestinian people, US domination over Iraq oil resources, and the removal of an independent and nationalist government. Iraq was targeted because Iraq qualified for US aggression by being a defenceless nation. A mistake no other independent nation should emulate. It is a dangerous threat to world peace if the US and its allies hold a total monopoly on WMD.
If there are people who benefited from the War on Iraq, they are the US-Israeli Zionists and US contractors. Israel was allowed to kill more Palestinians and confiscate more Palestinian land. US defence contractors made billions of dollars selling to the US military the weapons and the bombs that destroyed Iraq. Bechtel, Halliburton, and the many other US contractors making billions from contracts to "rebuild" Iraq's infrastructures. In the meantime, not only did US taxpayers pay for the War, but they will also have to front the money for the "reconstruction". While Iraqis are starving under occupation, Iraq's oil revenues have been paid to the Kuwaiti emirs and US corporations. At the end, the Iraqis will eventually be forced to pay for the reconstruction of Iraq.
The US has failed to provide anything to the Iraqi people pre-1991 standard of living. Most of Iraqis are poorer now than they were during more than a decade of sanctions following the criminal US-led bombing campaign of the Gulf War. After all the enormous suffering that the US and its allies inflicted upon the Iraqi people during the last fifteen years and the failure to improve things since the invasion has proved the real intention of the US-led crimes against the Iraqi people. It is not freedom or democracy.
The US is not in the business of "spreading" democracy around the world. The best place is at home where the US should start building honest democracy. The January promised elections in Iraq are merely a method to marginalize the population and put a face on an illegitimate puppet government appointed to serve US interests only. The aim of the US is to create a colonial dictatorship in Iraq. The US is interested in securing military bases and skimming the nation's wealth to benefit US corporations against the wishes of the Iraqi people and world peace.
If the US is concerned about peace, democracy, and freedom in the world, the US should free the Iraqi people by withdrawing its troops and stop killing innocent Iraqi civilians. Only peace would allow the Iraqi people to embark on needed humanitarian assistance; reconstruction and reform that are urgently needed to improve the health, welfare and survival of the Iraqi people, including children and women.
Ghali Hassan lives in Perth, Western Australia. He can be reached at e-mail: [email protected]
