Updated 12:00 PM ET February 10, 2000
 

  By Valerie Sivicek & Nicole Wagner
  Daily Illini
  U. Illinois

  (U-WIRE) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is
  haunted by the wails of Iraqi women whose children he believes died because of sanctions
  on Iraq.

  Clark heard the mothers in the Iraqi hospitals he visited during his 10 trips to challenge
  U.S. sanctions.

  On Wednesday, Clark visited the University of Illinois to discuss U.S. foreign policy with
  Iraq in the Illini Union's Courtyard Cafe. Afterward, the audience participated in a
  question-and-answer session. Seats were filled for the event sponsored by Students for
  Palestine.

  Clark called the current sanctions against Iraq genocide.

  "The collective punishment against Iraq is a crime against humanity," he said.

  Clark explained that the purpose of U.S. foreign policy is two-fold. The first goal is to
  maintain an ever-ready military force. He also said the United States works to protect
  economic interests.

  Clark revealed that he believes the foreign policy leads to the deaths of thousands of Iraqis.

  During the war with Iraq, the United States averaged one jet flying over Iraq every 30
  seconds for 42 days, Clark said. He added that the military move was the largest and most
  intense aerial assault on any country at any one time.

  "Our planes lost were fewer than in NATO war games," Clark said. "We killed 150,000
  innocent people."

  Clark said the attack destroyed Iraq's infrastructure. The United States then employed
  sanctions to impede Iraq's recovery, he said.

  "The crueler and deadlier weapons by far have been the sanctions," Clark said.

  Since Aug. 6, 1990, the sanctions on Iraq have been a constant drain on the Iraqi people,
  Clark said.

  He described the towns where sanctions cut off supplies of water, food and medical
  supplies. Clark called the children of Iraq a "stunted generation" because of their
  experiences with malnutrition and related diseases. He cited statistics revealing that in 1999
  over 80,000 newborns died within the first year.

  Clark said the lack of medical supplies forces many doctors to work in unsanitary
  conditions. He said medical emergencies cannot be treated effectively.

  "We watched an 11-year-old's legs get sawed off with four men holding her down and no
  anesthesia," Clark said.

  After his speech, Clark fielded questions from the audience and expanded on his earlier
  points.

  He discussed the U.N.'s "Food for Oil" program, which went into effect in 1996.
  According to a United States Information Agency Web site, the program was designed to
  "address the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people." It allows Iraq to sell oil in order to
  help buy food, medicine and other supplies.

  Clark concluded that the program is ineffective because Iraqi people are still hungry and in
  need of supplies.

  Clark went into further detail about the conditions in Iraq. He cited polluted, unchlorinated
  water as the being the "single largest cause of death." Clark added that Iraqi mothers
  cannot produce enough milk to feed their babies because they are undernourished, and
  there is no formula available.

  There are no ambulances in Iraq, and most vehicles are "in bad shape," according to Clark.
  He said 80 percent of sanitation trucks are inoperable, so citizens can't get rid of their
  garbage.

  He also said there is a lack of communication technology and supplies, and paper, because
  no funds have been approved for these items.

  Professionals feel they "have been off the planet for 10 years," Clark said.

  Clark described the Iraqi people as being "gentle" and selfless.

  "They want to give you food, but they don't have any," he said, adding that most do not
  steal anyone else's small ration of food.

  When asked why other countries don't violate the sanctions, Clark said he believes "most
  are afraid to," adding that such actions "would take high levels of unity" on the part of each
  country.

  Clark also discussed the image of Saddam Hussein as a villain. He said the U.N. sanctions
  against Iraq, rather than Hussein, are responsible for the suffering in the country.

  "We are chasing devils all over the place, then we realize that they are ourselves," he said,
  adding that the United States, not Iraq, has control of weapons of mass destruction.

  "They are killing the children, and we will be held accountable, because we live here and
  can protest and change things."

  Clark also fielded questions about "cultural intrusion," which he said threatens the values
  and ways of life of indigenous people all over the world, and about the violence used
  against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. Clark blamed the United States for the invasion,
  saying it interfered with Iraq's affairs over a period of many years.

  Clark said United States and U.N. policies have negative affects all over the world, but
  Iraq is the most extreme example.

  Even if sanctions are removed right now, it will take a long time to reverse conditions there,
  Clark said.

  (C) 2000 Daily Illini via U-WIRE