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Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

US invasion produces human catastrophe in Iraq
(Jerry Isaacs, WSWS.org, 5 May 2003)
An unprecedented social calamity is confronting the Iraqi people as a result of the US invasion and the widespread looting that followed the removal of the Baghdad government. Virtually every element of the civilian infrastructure—electrical and water supply, telecommunications, health care, schools, transportation, even the financial system—has broken down, threatening the country’s 24 million people with the spread of infectious diseases, hunger and more death. . . . At least 3,500 civilians were killed and another 6,000 injured by American bombs, missiles and ground attacks during the three-week war. Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers—the bulk of them young conscripts—were also killed, although the number may never be known because the US refuses to present even an estimate of Iraqi casualties, civilian or military. . . . The statement noted that newly armed militia groups were forcing civilians to flee their homes and were offering “protection” against looting for hospitals. The statement warned of the danger of the outbreak of ethnic, tribal and religious violence that could imperil thousands of civilians. . . . The statement concluded by calling on US authorities to hand over reconstruction efforts to the United Nations . . . The White House has steadfastly opposed any such measures and instead has directly blocked humanitarian aid from agencies connected to the UN or the European Union. Last Friday, US authorities refused to allow a Belgian aircraft, loaded with vaccines, ante-natal care equipment and operating tables, to land in Baghdad, citing security concerns. The action was widely interpreted as an attempted to punish the Belgian government, which had opposed the US war. . . . US officials have barely acknowledged the social catastrophe in Iraq. The main preoccupation of the Bush administration has been seizing Iraq’s oil resources, securing lucrative “reconstruction” contracts for US companies closely tied to the White House and suppressing the growing number of Iraqi demonstrations demanding an end to the US occupation. . . . In fact US efforts to resume the flow of oil from Iraq’s southern oilfields were completed ahead of schedule and the massive northern oilfields near Kirkuk are expected to be up and running in a matter of weeks. . . . Meanwhile, the social disaster facing millions of ordinary Iraqis is worsening. . . . Before the war, the Hussein government distributed several months of rations to every Iraqi family but experts expect that food to run out soon. Food is available in private markets in Baghdad and other cities, but the poor could not afford to buy it before the war and now prices have shot up. . . . The food crisis has been exacerbated by the damage done to Iraq’s irrigation system, which has lost electrical power. Experts expect the country to produce only one-third of the crops it did in 2002. . . . Many of Baghdad’s 33 hospitals remain closed due to power cuts, medicine shortages, lack of staff and fear of continued looting. . . . “Unfortunately, we can expect many more young children to die rapidly,” said George Hatim, UNICEF’s chief officer in Baghdad. “Humanitarian groups can do a great deal but they cannot be a substitute for a whole system. We’re talking about a whole population, we’re not talking about a refugee camp or an internally displaced population. Iraq is now in a sense a stateless state and it is the children who are now suffering and paying the price.” . . . The Royal Society, the UK’s national science academy, has demanded that American and British military forces remove the toxic residues left by up to 2,000 tons of depleted uranium (DU) weapons used during the war. Many scientists believe that DU—used in armor-piercing rounds and “bunker-buster” rockets and bombs—causes cancer and other severe illnesses after its radioactive residue goes into the air or seeps into water supplies. .. . . US officials have said they have no plans for any DU clean-up in Iraq nor will they even test all US soldiers for exposure.

posted by Lorenzo 10:52 AM