US-UK-Australian
Iraqi Holocaust
And Iraqi Genocide
By Dr Gideon Polya
19 March,
2008
Countercurrents.org
On the 5th anniversary of the illegal, war criminal, Australian, UK and US invasion of Iraq we see an ongoing Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide - post-invasion non-violent and violent excess deaths 1.7-2.2 million, post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 0.6 million, and 4.5 million refugees out of a current population of about 28 million i.e. about one quarter of Iraqis DEAD or HOMELESS.
On 20 March 2003 Australian, British and American forces illegally invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq, this occurring after a 12 year period of bombing and sanctions associated with 1.7 million excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened), 1.2 million under-5 infant deaths and 0.2 million violent deaths in the Gulf War.
The horrific consequences of the pre-Invasion Sanctions on Iraqi infant mortality are revealed by UN Population Division data for Iraq and its impoverished but mostly un-occupied and peaceful neighbour Syria (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ). Back in about 1950 the "under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 births" in newly-independent, post-European colonialism Iraq and Syria was a catastrophic 200; by 1990 (with both countries under Ba'athist dictatorships) it had dramatically fallen to about 50 and 44, respectively; after the US-UK-Israeli bombing and Sanctions began in 1990, this rate doubled rapidly in Iraq but kept declining in peaceful and only partially Israeli-occupied Syria; NOW it is 105 for "US-liberated", oil-rich Occupied Iraq and 18 for impoverished, resource-poor, Ba'athist dictatorship Syria (for the latest data see: UN Population Divsion infant mortality data ).
The Excuses
for War were numerous and FALSE. It is now estimated by several US
scholarly think tanks (notably the Center for Public Integrity) that
the Bush Administration told 935 LIES about Iraq in the 2 years after
the 9/11 attacks (an atrocity for which there is NO evidence of any
Iraqi involvement) (see: http://www.news.com.au/story/
0,23599,23098129-401,00.html and
http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/
). Indeed there is appalling evidence for both active and passive
US complicity in that atrocity. Thus former Vice President Al Gore
in his recent book “The Assault on Reason” (Chapter 6,
National Insecurity, pp178-179), , while dismissing the widely-held
hypothesis of deliberate passive complicity of the Bush Administration
in 9/11, condemns the Bush Administration for effective passive complicity
in the 9/11 atrocity i.e. they let it happen, just as a fore-warned
US Administration permitted the Pearl Harbor attack to happen in 1941:
“Their behaviour, in my opinion, was reckless, but the explanation
for it lies in hubris, not in some bizarre conspiracy theory …These
affirmative and repeated refusals to listen to clear warnings [prior
to 9/11] constitute behaviour that goes beyond simple negligence.
At a minimum, it represents a reckless disregard for the safety of
the American people.”
However, the extremely eminent former 7-year President of Italy, law professor, senator for life and long-term Western intelligence intimate Francesco Cossiga has recently (November 2007) gone even further – Cossiga told one of Italy's top newspapers Corriere della Sera that (a) the US CIA and Israeli Mossad committed the 9/11 outrage in order to further US and Zionist aims and that (b) major Western intelligence agencies are well aware of this (for details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/18569/26/ ).
Five years on from the invasion of Iraq and the cost of the devastating and CONTINUING US-UK-Australian occupation of Iraq is horrendous. A recent Congressional Report informed by US Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University) and Professor Linda Bilmes (Harvard University) estimated an accrual cost of $3.5 trillion. American war dead total about 4,000 and the wounded total about 30,000 (see: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40043 ).
The Indigenous Iraqi human cost of the US Coalition invasion and occupation of Iraq is utterly appalling. As of March 2008, authoritative estimates from the world’s top Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA and the UK ORB organization are of 5-year violent deaths of 0.91 million and 1.36 million, respectively, and estimates from UN Population Division data are of 5-year non-violent excess deaths of 0.77 - 0.87 million.
Thus post-invasion
violent plus non-violent excess deaths in Occupied Iraq total 1.7
- 2.2 million as of March 2008. In addition one can estimate 1.7 million
Sanctions excess deaths (1990-2003), 1.2 million under-5 infant deaths
under Sanctions, 0.2 million Iraqi Gulf War deaths, 0.6 million post-invasion
infant deaths (UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html
) and 4.5 million Iraqi refugees (UNHCR) (see: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm
and Iraqi Genocide, Afghan Genocide: http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/
2008/02/formal-complaint-to-international.html , http://ruddaustraliareportcard.blogspot.com/2008/01/
rudd-australia-report-card-1-continued.html and “World writers
slam Iraqi Holocaust. Iraq Invasion 5th Anniversary”: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/21006/42/
).
This is
an ongoing Iraqi Holocaust and an ongoing Iraqi Genocide as defined
by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention which defines “genocide”
as involving “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole
or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group” (sustained,
remorseless killing being clearly intentional) (see: http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/
genocide/convention.html ).
Even a
top conservative UK politician Michael Ancram (Conservative Party
MP and shadow foreign secretary (2001-2005) says that it has been
clear to MPs and top military figures that Britain should get out
of Occupied Iraq in a very recent article entitled “End in the
Iraq obscenity” in the prestigious UK New Statesman (see:
http://www.newstatesman.com/200706110013#reader-comments
) .
Outstanding
writers are writing the truth and indeed a growing band of outstanding,
anti-racist, humanitarian writers are describing the carnage in Occupied
Iraq as an Iraqi Holocaust or Iraqi Genocide e.g. Dr Mark Weisbrot
(President of Just Foreign policy: http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/68568/
), Dr Paul Craig Roberts (eminent US writer, academic, editor
and Father of Reaganomics: http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts10162007.html
), Tariq Ali (outstanding UK-based Pakistani journalist, film-maker
and author: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/
Messages190308.htm#tariq%20ali ) and John Pilger (outstanding,
award-winning Australian-UK writer and journalist: http://www.newstatesman.com/200711150033).
As a decent,
anti-racist, humanitarian, Australian scientist, for 5 years I have
endlessly reported the mounting carnage to media throughout the world
and to Australian politicians – trying to get through the Mainstream
Media Wall of Silence over the ongoing Iraqi Genocide and Iraqi Holocaust.
I have succeeded in getting decent MPs to ask questions in Federal
Parliament about the horrendous Iraqi deaths. I have had the occasional
letter (out of thousands sent) published by Mainstream media and in
2005 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) permitted me to
make a nation-wide broadcast entitled “Australian complicity
in Iraq mass mortality” (see: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/
ockham/stories/s1445960.htm - this was recently published in a
collection of essays by Australian thinkers in a book entitled “Lies,
Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC
Books, Sydney, 2007).
However in general the Silence has been Deafening from the Mainstream media, notwithstanding the powerful, compassionate pleas from outstanding anti-racist humanitarians such as those 95 writers (including Tariq Ali, Curtis Doebbler, Felicity Arbuthnot, Dahr Jamail and Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter) who recently issued statements on the Iraq Holocaust on the occasion of this 5th anniversary via the humanitarian Brussels Tribunal: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm (see also “World writers slam Iraqi Holocaust”: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/21006/42/ and Dahr Jamail’s powerful article “Iraq: 5 years and counting”: http://www.countercurrents.org/jamail180308.htm ).
“Politically correct” racist (PC racist) White Australia is firmly looking the other way – it is STILL involved in Holocaust Commission, Holocaust Denial, Genocide Commission and Genocide Denial. Thus, simply do an Australia-specific Google Search for the phrase “Iraqi Holocaust” or “Iraqi Genocide” and you will get about 20 and 90 URLs, respectively. However do an Australia-specific Google Search for the phrase “weapons of mass destruction” – the BIG LIE used to justify Australian invasion of Iraq – and you will get about 73,000 URLs. “Politically correct” racist (PC racist), war criminal, climate criminal Murdochracy Australia is indeed the Land of Flies, Lies and Slies (spin-based untruths). Do a similar Google Search for the whole English-speaking World for the phrases “Iraqi Holocaust” or “Iraqi Genocide” (the Awful Truth) and you will get about 15,000 and 13,000 URLs, respectively, but search for “weapons of mass destruction” (the BIG LIE) and you will get 5,200,000 (5.2 MILLION) URLs.
Outstanding
Jewish American scholar Professor Noam Chomsky (“The War Everyone
Forgot”: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/ColumnistHome
New.asp?section=noamchomsky ) has condemned the atrocity in Iraq
and the failure of the issue to be central in the current Presidential
primaries. He has explained this immense dishonesty thus: “Iraq
remains a significant concern for the population, but that is a matter
of little moment in a modern democracy. Not long ago, it was taken
for granted that the Iraq war would be the central issue in the presidential
campaign, as it was in the midterm election of 2006. But it has virtually
disappeared, eliciting some puzzlement. There should be none. The
Wall Street Journal came close to the point in a front-page article
on Super Tuesday, the day of many primaries: "Issues Recede in
'08 Contest As Voters Focus on Character." To put it more accurately,
issues recede as candidates, party managers and their public relations
agencies focus on character. As usual. And for sound reasons. Apart
from the irrelevance of the population, they can be dangerous. Progressive
democratic theory holds that the population — "ignorant
and meddlesome outsiders" — should be "spectators,"
not "participants" in action, as Walter Lippmann wrote.”
It is the LYING (by commission and omission) of Mainstream media and politicians in the Western Murdochracies that has enabled the Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide to happen and indeed to CONTINUE. Racist, anti-Arab anti-Semitic, Zionist-beholden and Bush-ite-beholden Mainstream media of the Western Murdochracies in general are involved in Holocaust Commission, Holocaust Denial, Genocide Commission and Genocide Denial.
2005 Nobel Laureate for Literature, Jewish British playwright Harold Pinter has succinctly summarized the Iraq atrocity as follows (see: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#pinter ) : “The invasion of Iraq was a criminal act. The occupation of Iraq remains a criminal act. The British government under Blair and the United States administration are war criminals. It’s as simple as that.”
But the
war criminals complicit in the Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide
have NOT yet been arraigned before the International Criminal Court
(notwithstanding individual formal complaints e.g. see: http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/
) and the carnage continues. Professor Chomsky (see: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/ColumnistHome
New.asp?section=noamchomsky ) comments further : “One of
the most dedicated and informed journalists who have been immersed
in the shocking tragedy, Nir Rosen, recently published an epitaph,
"The Death of Iraq," in Current History. "Iraq has
been killed, never to rise again," Rosen writes. "The American
occupation has been more disastrous than that of the Mongols, who
sacked Baghdad in the 13th century" — a common perception
of Iraqis as well.”
Silence kills and silence is complicity – we cannot walk by on the other side. Peace is the only way but we are obliged to inform everyone we can about the horrendous, ongoing atrocity of the Iraqi Holocaust, the Iraqi Genocide.
About half the Iraqis are Children and about three quarters of Women and Children. Any person who KNOWINGLY ignores, denies, excuses, minimizes, obfuscates, supports, advocates or is otherwise complicit in the UK-Australia-US-led, anti-Arab anti-Semitic, Islamophobic Iraqi Genocide has parted company from decent humanity.
Peace is the only way – and CAN be achieved by urgent imposition
of individual and collective, intra-national and international Sanctions
and Boycotts against all individuals, corporations and countries (notably
the US, the UK and their racist lackey White Australia) complicit
in the ongoing Iraqi Holocaust and Iraqi Genocide.
Dr Gideon Polya published some 130 works in a 4 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 just published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since
1950” (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/
).
