US Withdraws & Australian ABC Censors 4.6 million
Iraqi Holocaust War Dead
By Dr Gideon Polya
16 December, 2011
Countercurrents.org
The Americans have almost completed their withdrawal from war-devastated Iraq that since 1990 has suffered 4.6 million war-related deaths, 1.7 million violent deaths, 2.9 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 5-6 million refugees and 2.0 million under-5 infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to egregious US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention. However the Mainstream media of the Western Murdochracies and Lobbyocracies have resolutely refused to report the carnage of the 2 decade US War on Muslims in an ongoing process of utterly repugnant genocide complicity, genocide ignoring, genocide denial, holocaust complicity, holocaust ignoring, and holocaust denial.
Thus Australian ABC News of the taxpayer-funded ABC ( Australia 's equivalent of the UK BBC) : “ The US military has officially ended its war in Iraq , packing up a military flag at a low-key ceremony nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. There are a little more than 4,000 US soldiers in Iraq but they will depart in the coming days, at which point almost no more American troops will remain in a country where there were once nearly 170,000 personnel on more than 500 bases. The withdrawal ends a war that left tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 American soldiers dead, many more wounded and 1.75 million Iraqis displaced, after the 2003 US-led invasion unleashed brutal sectarian fighting” (see “US military marks end of its Iraq war”, ABC News, 16 December 2011: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-15/us-military-marks-end-of-its-war-in-iraq/3733982 ). Another ABC News report talks of “100,000 plus” Iraqi dead.
The ABC's “Tens of thousands” or “100,000 plus” dead Iraqis enormously underestimates the death toll. Thus the eminent US Just Foreign Policy organization estimates on the basis of expert medical epidemiological data that post-invasion violent deaths total 1.5 million and comments “The number is shocking and sobering. It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on a scientific study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003” (see: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/156 ). In addition some 0.2 million Iraqis were killed in the Gulf War.
However violent deaths represent one part of the post-invasion death toll. Non-violent avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation as estimated from UN Population Division data (2006 revision data i.e. before the US Puppet Maliki Government was installed) total 1.2 million (2003-2011, under US Occupation) and 1.7 million (1990-2003, under Sanctions and US, UK and Israeli bombing).
UN Population Division data (2006 Revision data) show that Iraqi under-5 infant deaths totaled 0.8 million (2003-2011) and 1.2 million (1990-2003). In 1999 Carol Bellamy, former Executive Director of UNICEF had noted that if the substantial reduction in child mortality throughout Iraq during the 1980s had continued through the 1990s, there would have been half a million fewer deaths of children under-five in the country as a whole during the eight year period 1991 to 1998 and that “Today's under-5 mortality rate of 131 per 1000 in south and central Iraq is comparable to current rates in Haiti (132) and Pakistan (136)”(see: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/bellamy ). After US Puppet Maliki was installed, UN statistics were revised to claim that Sanctions, US, UK and Israeli bombing (1990-2003) and thence of violent Occupation (2003-2011) actually led to a DECREASE in under-5 infant mortality (deaths under-5 per 1,000 births) from 47 (1995-2000) to 44 (2000-2005), 42 (2005-2010) and 41 (2010-2015) (see: http://esa.un.org/wpp/unpp/p2k0data.asp ).
In 2007, the United Nations estimated that nearly 5 million refugees had fled the country since 2003, this figure not including internally displaced persons (IDPs). Iraqi refugees generated by the war total 5-6 million (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_of_Iraq and UNHCR: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486426.html ).
Dennis Halliday was the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq from September 1, 1997, until 1998. He resigned after 34 years with the UN, including being UN assistant secretary-general, over the Sanctions imposed on Iraq , characterizing them as “genocide”(see: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/halliday-denis ). Nearly 22 years of Western war against the Iraqi people is now associated with 4.6 million war-related deaths, 1.7 million violent deaths, 2.9 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 5-6 million refugees and 2.0 million under-5 infant deaths (90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance violation of Articles 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War which demand that an Occupier must provide life-sustaining food and medical requisites to its conquered subjects “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” (see: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/y4gcpcp.htm ) .
This constitutes an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide according to by Article 2 of the UN Geneva Convention: (see: http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/genocide/convention.html ) which states: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Australia 's ABC has resolutely failed to report the Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide. Indeed an ABC Search of the entire ABC site for the key terms “Iraqi Holocaust”, “Iraqi Genocide” and even “under-5 infant deaths” or “under-5 deaths” yields ZERO (0) results. An ABC Search for “avoidable deaths” yields ZERO results in relation to Iraq and merely 13 for other (e.g. domestic medical) contexts.
An ABC Search for the term “Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War” yields ZERO (0) results of reportage by the ABC but turned up the following comment made by a person with the nom de plume “Think not” who has been evidently inspired by the identical argument I have been endlessly presenting over the last decade: “In his recent speech in Cairo, Obama actually made a confession of war criminality when he alluded to "aid" of $7.5 billion for Pakistan and $2.8 billion for occupied Afghanistan - yet Articles 55 and 56 of The Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons In Time of War demand that the Occupier does everything "to the fullest extent of the means available to it" to keep its conquered subjects alive. That means for 27 million occupied Afghans at least the same annual per capita medical expenditure as for metropolitan U.S.A. i.e. $6.714 per person per year x 27 million Afghans = $180 billion every year rather than the paltry $2.8 billion offered. Obama is currently the world's number one violent extremist - the world's number one killer of children, and the world's number one holocaust denier because he absolutely ignores the horrendous human cost of the US's invasions, occupations and devastation in the Muslim world” (see: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2009/06/09/2593501.htm ).
The annual total per capita medical expenditure permitted by the Americans in Iraq in 2009 was US$167 as compared to US$7,410 for the US (see http://www.who.int/countries/irq/en/ ).
In 2004 Australia's top science journalist Robyn Williams permitted me to make a nation-wide broadcast on his Ockham's Razor program entitled “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” (28 August 2005) : http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/australian-complicity-in-iraq-mass-mortality/3369002 . I said in part (August 2005) : “The latest UNICEF report in 2005 estimates that for the year 2003 the under-5 infant mortality was 110,000 in occupied Iraq, 292,000 in occupied Afghanistan and 1,000 in the invading and occupying country Australia (noting that these countries have populations of about 25-million, 24-million and 20-million respectively).Using publicly available United Nations and medical literature data one can readily calculate that there have been about 0.4 million avoidable deaths in post-invasion Iraq. In 1991 the UK recommenced military action against Iraq that had kicked off in 1914. In 2003 the US, UK and Australia illegally invaded and conquered Iraq . I have calculated that the under-5 infant mortality was 1.2 million for Iraq since 1991; 0.2 million for Iraq since the 2003 invasion; and 0.9 million for Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion… The US, UK and Australia are clearly complicit in horrendous avoidable mortality and infant mortality in a swathe of invaded Asian countries in the post-1950 era. This now raises the philosophic issue of responsibility. The occupying ruler is responsible for the ruled, (noting 'occupation' includes military, economic and political hegemony and rule by client indigenous regimes). Further, whether an adult or child is killed violently or dies non-violently from deprivation or avoidable disease, the end result is the same and the culpability the same. In 2004 the estimated per capita medical expenditure was only $US37 in occupied Iraq , but $US3,100 in the invading and occupying country, Australia . This roughly one-hundredfold difference in per capita medical expenditure is reflected in a one-hundredfold difference in under-5 infant mortality. The provision of grossly inappropriate medical assistance in occupied Iraq at only about 1% of the per capita level in the occupying Coalition countries is criminal and genocidal… Jihadist violence has taken roughly about 5,000 Western civilian lives over the last 20 years, with most of the victims dying on 9/11 (about 3,000) and the remainder including murdered Israeli civilians and the victims of atrocities such as Madrid , Lockerbie and Bali . However this jihadist violence has had immensely bloodier consequences through the hysterically and dishonestly promoted War on Terror that has been associated with post-invasion avoidable deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan alone that total 1.6 million.” This talk was later published as a chapter entitled “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in a book “Lies, Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s1445960.htm ).
As of several weeks ago, an ABC Search for the title of my talk “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” yields ZERO (0) results and indeed a search for “gideon polya” yields only 2 results (3 radio broadcast transcripts and numerous comment thread contributions have disappeared). However the courageous and ethical Ockham's Razor site on ABC Radio National still carries links to these 3 significant radio broadcasts, namely the link http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/search/?query=%22gideon+polya%22 , that in turn gives links to "Bengali Famine": http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/bengali-famine/3556698 , “Crisis in our universities: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/crisis-in-our-universities/3490214 , and “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality”: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/australian-complicity-in-iraq-mass-mortality/3369002 . However in order to find these transcripts you need to know my name, the subject matter, and that they were to do with “history” and broadcast on the Ockham's Razor Radio National program.
The ABC censorship of the Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide also extends to censorship of the Palestinian Genocide (1.5 million war- and occupation-related Palestinian deaths, 0.1 million Palestinians killed violently, 1.4 million avoidable Palestinian deaths from war- and occupation-imposed deprivation, 7 million refugees, 3,600 Palestinian infants passively murdered by Apartheid Israel each year ), the Afghan Holocaust and Afghan Genocide (5.6 million war-related deaths, 4.2 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 3-4 million refugees and 2.9 million post-invasion under-5 infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to US Alliance and Australian war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention), the Somali Holocaust and Somali Genocide ( 2.2 million war-related deaths, 0.4 million violent deaths, 1.8 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 1.3 million under-5 infant deaths, 2.0 million refugees) and the Libyan Genocide (50,000 killed, 1 million Black Libyan refugees, 0.2 million other refugees) (see “Palestinian Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/ , “Afghan Holocaust, Afghan Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/afghanholocaustafghangenocide/ and “Muslim Holocaust, Muslim Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ ). ABC Searches for the terms “Palestinian Genocide”, “Afghan Genocide”, “Somali Holocaust”, “Somali Genocide” and “Libyan Genocide” all yield ZERO (0) results.
In summary, the taxpayer-funded ABC (Australia's equivalent of the UK BBC) has deliberately ignored and censored out authoritative reportage of the Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide that has been associated with 4.6 million war-related Iraqi deaths, 1.7 million violent Iraqi deaths, 2.9 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 2.0 million under-5 infant deaths (90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance war crimes in violation of the Geneva Convention) and 5-6 million refugees. The ABC claims that it “Is Australia's most trusted, independent source of news. Our network of more than 500 journalists at home and abroad provide unrivalled coverage of the news events that affect Australians” . William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) was hanged by the British in 1946 for broadcasting on behalf of the Nazi Germans. The Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-beholden and pro-war-, pro-Zionist- and pro-US ABC and its 500 “journalists” must simply be publicly exposed for lying by commission and lying by omission over the Iraqi Genocide (4.6 million war related deaths), Afghan Genocide (5.6 million war-related deaths), Palestinian Genocide (1.5 million war-, occupation- and expulsion-related deaths), Somali Genocide (2.2 million war-related deaths) and the Libyan Genocide (50,000 war-related deaths).
Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence complicity. Decent people are obliged to tell the Awful Truth to everyone they can but the Australian ABC through censorship, self-censorship and lying by commission and commission is complicit in the horrendous, genocidal war crimes of the US Alliance War on Muslims that has been associated with 9 million war-related deaths since 2001 and 12 million war-related deaths since 1990. Australian journalists and politicians complicit in the Iraqi Genocide should be publicly exposed and arraigned before the International Criminal Court. Indeed John Valder, former national president of former PM John Howard's Liberal Party, demanded that Australian PM John Howard be arraigned for war crimes, stating “ "Bush, Blair, and Howard, as leaders of the three members of the coalition of the willing, inflicted enormous suffering on the people of Iraq . And, as such, they are criminals ” (see “Ho3ard is a war criminal” , sys former colleague”, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 2004: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/18/1090089035899.html ).
In his 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, Harold Pinter advocated war crimes trials before the ICC for Bush and Blair, declaring “ How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice ” (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm ). 4.6 million? Surely enough, I would have thought.
Dr Gideon Polya currently teaches science students at a major Australian university. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds" (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London , 2003). He has recently published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); see also his contributions “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “Lies, Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007): http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s1445960.htm ) and “Ongoing Palestinian Genocide” in “The Plight of the Palestinians (edited by William Cook, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010: http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/4047-the-plight-of-the-palestinians.html ). He has just published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” (see: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/ ) as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others: http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/ bengalfamine_programme.html ). When words fail one can say it in pictures - for images of Gideon Polya's huge paintings for the Planet, Peace, Mother and Child see: http://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideonpolya/ .
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