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iraq: a decade of suffering
Iraq is a country that we hear little about anymore though the United States
is still waging a violent war upon the Iraqi people. Since 1991 the U.S., along with several other imperialist nations, invaded Iraq
and decimated the whole infrastructure. This seems normal, this is what
happens in a war, right? Well, after the war was “over” the bombs kept
falling and a silent weapon of mass destruction was placed upon the lives of
the suffering Iraqi people. A repressive tool called economic sanctions were
imposed upon Iraq making it very difficult to acquire even the most basic
items. To this day the U.S. is still bombing Iraq and has never let up.
The capitalist controlled news media refuses to cover this story because it
is so terribly obvious that the ruling elite are committing genocide to the
Iraqi people and such issues don’t make very good impressions on the masses.
Be that as it may, as young students, workers and revolutionaries we need
to be able to see things as they are, not as the capitalist’s propaganda
machine would like us to. With that said, let us look at the situation.
Prewar Times
The United States’ ruling class would like us to believe that Saddam Hussein
was a bad guy
and that he had always been that way. However, from the late 1970's through
the 80's the U.S. actively funded Hussein’s regime with military aid. During this
period Iraq was engaged in an eleven year war with its neighbor Iran. Iran
had just had a revolution, out of which eventually came the Ayatollah
Khomeini. Under Khomeini Iran launched a religious campaign that spilled over into
Iraq and that called for all Muslims to fight for Islamic rule. Iraq, for its own reasons, soon after invaded Iran. The ensueing war was perpetuated by the United States, who ended up supplying both the Iraqis and Iranians.
They question may arise, why did the U.S. government support this war? Being
the capitalist dogs that they are, you can be sure it was over money. Of course the big reason was to protect the Middle Eastern oil fields. One
of the other more provocative reasons though was that we were selling arms to Iran in
order to make money to fund the illegal war against the Contras in
Nicaragua. Remember Oliver North? Well, Reagan basically told him,
“Listen, the American people will never support this war in Nicaragua that’s
aimed at crushing a revolution, so we’re going to have to
make the money another way. Go to the Middle East and see who wants to buy
arms from us. The money we make from the sales will be put towards the
‘war’ in Nicaragua.” Well, maybe those weren’t the exact words but that is
precisely how things went.
In 1990, after the war ended in a stale mate, Iraq was left with debts to pay, and a huge military. Saddam
rallied his troops once again, and invaded their small southern neighbor
Kuwait. Since Kuwait was a rich, oil producing country it seemed an
appropriate target. On top of that Kuwait was,
historically, a part of Iraq. Also at the time, Kuwaiti oil companies were conducting underground oil extraction
methods (slant drilling) under the border of Iraq.
The U.S. saw in the invasion a
chance to crack down, increase its presence in the Middle East and act as the world police. And crack down they did.
In 1991 the U.S. led the United Nations into a quick and calculated war with
Iraq. Operation Desert Storm did not last long due to the superior military
power of the U.S. and other imperialist nations. Iraq’s infrastructure
(power plants, water facilities, roads and bridges, etc) were laid to waste.
From what U.S. citizens saw on CNN and ABC it was a smooth operation that
looked like nothing more than fireworks at night or a video game. But, for
the Iraqi people the death and terror experienced was very real...and it was
only beginning.
The Aftermath
After the war the U.S. imposed a strict economic blockade upon the war torn
country. The desired effect was to force Saddam Hussain into surrendering
and leaving power. However, the actual effect has been much different. The
sanctions have only strengthened the Iraqi people’s resolve and enforced the
idea that the U.S. government is made up of devils. On the other hand the
sanctions have, materially speaking, weakened everything in Iraq from
education and medicine to life itself.
In a 1995 report UNICEF had this to
say of the situation, “Sanctions are inhibiting the importation of spare
parts, chemicals, reagents, and the means of transportation required to
provide water and sanitation services to the civilian population of
Iraq...What has become increasingly clear is that no significant movement
towards food security can be achieved so long as the embargo remains in
place. All vital contributors to food availability - agricultural
production, importation of foodstuffs, economic stability and income
generation, are dependent on Iraq’s ability to purchase and import those
items vital to the survival of the civilian population.”
Economy
Since Iraq is not able to trade freely with other nations and its
infrastructure has been destroyed one can imagine that their economy has
taken a huge hit. Just prior to the Gulf War Iraq had a gross domestic
production income of $60 billion. As of 1999 the GDP has dropped to $5.7
billion, making it just about $247 per person. This is a shocking statistic
and certainly has a correlation in the decrease in the standard of living
within Iraq. Previous to the war, Iraq had many nationalized social
programs such as free medical care and subsidized food and education. Now,
such programs can no longer be supported by such a dwarfed economy and thus
the standard of living has been significantly lowered.
The “oil-for-food” program, set up by the U.S., allows Iraq to trade their
main natural
resource, oil, for food. Though this helps out a little, it is simply not
enough. Denis Halliday, the UN humanitarian relief coordinator for Iraq
said, “Iraq’s recurring annual budget for health, food, and essential
services is $12-15 billion.” However, the oil-for-food program that
Halliday directed for thirteen months only brings about $4 billion into
Iraq. This poses a serious issue to the lives of the Iraqi people.
To put Iraq’s economic crises into perspective here are some provocative
statistics:
· With a total GDP of $5.7 billion, Iraq’s economy is worth about the same
as four B-1 bombers, or half of Bill Gates.
· The entire Iraqi economy amounts to just 2% of the annual United States
defense budget of $256 billion.
· The increase in the U.S. defense budget proposed by the Clinton
Administration for the year 2000 ($12 billion) is more than twice the entire
GDP of Iraq!
All of this spells disaster for the average Iraqi citizen. It is estimated
that the average person in Iraq in 1984 was making the equivalent to $3,146.
This number has since decreased to a paltry $45 in 1995! Along with that
the rate of exchange has been drastically reduced from $3 U.S.=1 Iraqi Dinar
in 1990 to $1 U.S.=2,000 Dinar in 1997! Obviously this means that
individuals have little buying power and with the rapid rate of inflation,
the cost of basic necessities are ridiculous. For example, in July 1995
average shop prices of essential commodities stood at 850 times the July
1990 level. We can easily conclude that the economic situation in Iraq, due
to the sanctions, is sickening.
Health Care
The health care system in Iraq has also been heavily effected by the
economic sanctions.
Prior to 1991 modern health care reached 97% of the urban population and 73%
of the rural inhabitants. Today, many hospitals have been destroyed and
medical supplies are very rare to come by. Simple items such as oxygen,
syringes, and clean water–items that are necessary for helping the wounded
and ill are simply not there.
This problem has had profound effects on the vulnerable classes of people
(elderly,
handicapped, and children.) This issue is coupled with the unavailability
of foodstuffs for the majority of the population. The maternal mortality
rate has increased from 50/1000 live births in 1989 to 117/1000 in 1997.
The under five child mortality rate increased from 30/1000 to 97/1000 during
the same period. Both of those numbers have more than doubled because of
the lack of medical care and malnutrition.
In addition, low infant birth weight affects at least 23% of all births,
chronic malnutrition affects every fourth child under five years of age, and
only 41% of the population have regular access to clean water. Put another
way, 960,000 Iraqi children are malnourished, a rise of 72% since the war
began in 1991. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in Feb. 1997,
“Iraq’s health care system is close to collapse because medicines and other
life-saving supplies scheduled for importation under the oil-for-food deal
have not arrived...Government drug warehouses and pharmacies have few stocks
of medicines and medical supplies. The consequences of this situation are
causing a near breakdown of the health care system, which is reeling under
the pressure of being deprived of medicine, other basic supplies, and spare
parts.”
It is clear that the sanctions make it nearly impossible for Iraq to develop
a health care system that can care for the millions of people who need such
facilities.
Pollution
The pollution caused in the Gulf War is abominable. The U.S. military along
with the
UN troops did not hesitate to use munitions and missiles containing depleted
uranium, a known radioactive pollutant.
During four days in December 1998 the U.S. fired at least 400 cruise
missiles in Iraq. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the U.S. fired 285 cruise
missiles at Iraqi targets. All of these missiles contained depleted
uranium. The problem with depleted uranium (U-238) is that decays into
other radioactive elements emitting alpha, beta, and gamma radiation which
induce genetic mutations, cellular damage, and/or death. The mutation of
regulatory cells can cause cancer years after initial exposure and the
mutation of the reproductive cells can cause birth defects in offspring. In
addition to these health risks U-238 has a half-live of 4.5 billion years,
making it dangerous to humanity forever.
Due to its density, DU was found to be useful for military purposes, such as
piercing a conventional tank’s armor. And of course there was the economic
advantage to DU as well, it was free, since nuclear energy facilities could
not get rid of it easily with strict EPA standards.
With the hundreds of DU tipped missiles and bullets it is estimated that the
quantity of radioactive debris now contaminating Iraq as a result of the
attacks is between 300-800 tons! In addition to this, when a DU munitions
vaporized due to an explosion or fire the particles released into the air
were/are ingested and can cause similar medical problems as mentioned
before.
It is important to note that the pollution did not only affect the Iraqi
people but also our own brothers and sisters who fought in the U.S.
military. The Army issued no warnings or protective gear to the troops
because, according to a U.S. government report, “Army officials believe that
DU protective methods can be ignored during battle and other
life-threatening situations because DU-related health risks are greatly
outweighed by the risks of combat.” Some how I doubt the U.S. G.I.s who
served in Desert Storm and are now developing cancer or are having babies
with birth defects would agree with their military superiors. It is very
likely than many of the 45,000-90,000 veterans of the Gulf War are suffering
from the exposure to the radioactive materials. All the while the U.S.
military and Pentagon were well aware of the dangers and affects that DU
posed to both the Iraqis and U.S./UN troops.
So, what has the tangible affect been on the Iraqi people? In 1995 the
respected Dr. Helen Caldicott stated, “...there was enough depleted uranium
in the form of empty shells in the area (Basra) to account for 500,000
deaths.” Another woman, Dr. Barbara Nimri Aziz asked a small farmer near
Baghdad why young people were not getting married. His response was
alarming, “Young people fear the birth of a malformed fetus or a still
birth.” This can medically supported by the statement of a doctor in Mosul
who reported, “Four or five times a month I see babies born without ears,
without eyes, without limbs, or with foreshortened limbs, without formed
genitalia, with cleft palate, club foot, or enlarged heads.”
There can be no doubt that this radioactive pollutant will leach into the
ground water causing even more wide spread medical disasters. It will
contaminate not only water supplies but also vegetables, meat, milk, and
other agricultural products. The very idea of using such a lethal substance
in munitions makes one wonder if the U.S.’s intentions of mass Iraqi death
wasn’t too obvious.
Common Myths
1) Iraq possesses and seeks to build weapons of mass destruction.
According to former United Nations Special Commission chief inspector Scott
Ritter, “From a qualitative standpoint, Iraq has been disarmed. Iraq today
possesses no meaningful weapons of mass destruction.” Though it may be that
Iraq has the seed stock to rebuild such weapons at this point they have no
capabilities to deploy them.
The United States should know what kind of weapons Iraq has because we were
their retailer! Just one day before Iraq invaded Kuwait, George Bush
approved and signed a shipment of advanced data transmission equipment to
Iraq.
Furthermore, the United States possesses more nuclear weapons than the rest
of the world combined! It is down right hypocritical for the U.S. to sit
atop its nuclear arsenal, that is illegal according to international law,
and cast an unapproving eye upon Iraq. The economic sanctions imposed on
the Iraqi citizens is the weapon of mass destruction that needs to be
opposed!
2) The Iraqi government has undermined the UN weapons inspection program by
kicking out inspectors and/or hiding weapons.
In December 1998, just before “Operation Desert Fox” Richard Butler removed
inspectors from Iraq, contrary to what is commonly reported. The U.S. news
claimed that Iraq “threw out” the inspectors. This just doesn’t hold water.
Butler’s own records show that his team of weapons inspectors made
numerous unimpeded visits. In addition, another former weapons inspector,
Raymond Zilinskas stated that, "95% of our work proceeded unhindered."
The dirty side of it all was that Unscom (the UN weapons inspectors) was
being used by the U.S. government as spies, which was admitted to the
Washington Post by government officials. Iraq had previously charged Unscom
with spying, a claim that was denied by the U.S.
The irony is that Iraq pays for the entire UN operation in Iraq through oil
revenues, thus financing inspectors to spy on behalf of the United States.
3) The international community is united in its opposition to Iraq and
favors economic sanctions.
France, China, Russian are three countries among many that have criticized
the economic sanctions against Iraq. As permanent members of the UN
security council they have challenged the U.S. and U.K. position on
sanctions and have questioned military strikes. In addition to this, many
Middle-Eastern countries have an unfavorable view of the United States and
their repressive foreign policies, thus allying themselves with the
suffering Iraqi population.
Conclusion
I would like to conclude by saying that there are many things that young
people like
ourselves can do. The very first thing that we must engage in is education.
From personal friends who have gone to Iraq I know that the Iraqi people
do not oppose the American people but rather the American government. This
shows that they are an intelligent population. In the U.S. the majority of
the people are unable to distinguish the people from the government. What
we need to do is educate people on the very basic fact that men, women and
children just like us are suffering at the hands of our capitalist,
imperialist government. We need to be honest and blunt with ourselves and
others. Yesterday 250 Iraqis died because of the sanctions. Today 250
Iraqis died because of the sanctions. For ten years this has been going on.
Over one million people have perished in Iraq at the bloody hands of the
U.S. government. We need to recognize that and struggle against it.
As honest and informed people, as revolutionaries, our war was never in Iraq
(or Yugoslavia, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cuba, etc.) Our war has always been at
home, in our own back yard against the greatest murderer on earth, the
greatest oppressor on earth–the American capitalist class. We will never
have peace anywhere in the world if this sick class of oppressors is not
extinguished. To help the Iraqi people we must stand in solidarity with
them and oppose our own government for the atrocities it committed and still
commits today. We should band together with religious, cultural, and labor
groups to show resistance to our government’s policy of economic sanctions.
U.S. hands off Iraq! End the sanctions now!
