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Myths and Realities
"In numerous presentations, Voices in the Wilderness members have heard the following myths. We think the discussion below will help clarify our perspective on several important issues.
Myth #1 The sanctions have produced temporary hardship for the Iraqi people but are an effective, nonviolent way to pressure the Iraqi government.
Surveys by UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, have found that almost one-third of Iraqi children are suffering chronic malnutrition. An April, 1997 UNICEF report says that 4,500 children continue to die each month for lack of adequate food or medicine. The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs reports that "public health services are near total collapse - basic medicines, life-saving drugs and essential medical supplies are lacking throughout the country. 50% of rural people have no access to potable water and waste water treatment facilities have stopped functioning in most urban areas." The sanctions are an insidious form of warfare that have claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian lives.
Myth #2 The US government wants to enforce UN Resolutions and uphold the rule of law.
The US has consistently employed a double standard when it comes to UN Resolutions and international law. For decades, the US has vetoed UN resolutions condemning Israel's occupation of Arab territories. It is also relevant to the current situation that the US is in technical violation of a global treaty to dismantle chemical weapons (AP, 2/27/98). A Senate bill passed in 1997 allows the president to deny international inspections of US weapons sites "on grounds of national security." UN sanctions against Iraq, which continue to be imposed at the insistence of the US (with the UK following suit) are a gross violation of the Geneva Protocol 1, Article 54; Starvation of Civilians as a Method of Warfare is Prohibited. It's significant that the US, which has yet to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, considered using nuclear weapons against Iraq in February, 1998.
Myth #3 The US Government is concerned about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
The US and other western European countries were the major suppliers of chemical and biological weapons to Iraq in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. A report from the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs states that 9 out of 10 biological materials used in Iraq's weapon components were bought from US companies. The Los Angeles Times (2/ 19/98) reported that the US supplied satellite intelligence to the Iraqis when they used chemical weapons against Iran in 1988. During the Gulf War, the US military used depleted uranium tipped shells, rockets and missiles, spreading tons of highly toxic uranium oxide particles into the air. A dramatic rise in congenital diseases and fetal deformities has been found amongst both the children of Gulf War veterans and Iraqi children under age five.
The US imposes genocidal sanctions which are themselves a weapon of mass destruction, yet the US sells billions of dollars of weapons of mass destruction to other Gulf states. Israel possesses over 200 thermonuclear weapons and has violated 69 UN mandates, yet the US uses its veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent the UN from seeking Israeli cooperation with UN mandates and ignores Israel's possession of nuclear weapons.
Myth #4 The Iraqi government has made weapons inspections impossible and something must be done about it.
In February, 1998, the US prepared for and threatened to bomb Iraq over access to the presidential palaces. At the same time, former weapons inspector Raymond Zalinskas, a University of Maryland professor, stated that the inspections have resulted in the destruction of all major (bombing) targets related to chemical and biological warfare and that "95% of UNSCOM'S work continues unhindered." (NPR 2/13/98). UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's diplomacy took the wind out of the US bombing effort. Following his visit to Baghdad, inspections have continued smoothly and indeed, no weapons have been found in the presidential sites. In a Chicago Tribune article, (2/15/98) Zalinskas wrote, "Although it has been theoretically possible for the Iraqis to regain such weapons since 1991, the duplicity would have been risky and expensive and the probability of discovery high."
Myth #5 Economic sanctions or military force are the only means that will force Iraq to comply with UN agreements.
Sanctions and military threats have only served to strengthen the Iraqi government's position while punishing innocent civilians and isolating them from the international community. On the other hand, efforts at negotiation and conciliation, such as Kofi Annan's February, 1998 visit, have produced cooperation and an opening for continued dialogue. Establishment of a clear timetable for the wrap-up of UNSCOM's mission and recognition of progress made by the Iraqi government would provide incentive for further compliance. We believe that there is no humanitarian benefit in backing Iraq into a corner and causing greater desperation, as the economic sanctions have done. Much good will stands to be gained from recognizing the fundamental human rights (e.g., the rights to food, clean water, health care), of Iraqi civilians and not using human beings as a bargaining chip in trying to force US will on Iraq's leaders.
Myth #6 UN Resolution 986 (the oil for food deal) has begun to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people.
Dennis Halliday, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, stated on January 12, 1998, that Iraq would need in the neighborhood of $30 billion / year to meet its current requirements for food, medicine, and infrastructure. Resolution 986 initially allowed Iraq to sell up to 2.14 billion dollars worth of oil every six months. After allocations are taken out to pay for Gulf War reparations and UN administrative expenses, the amount of money which trickles down to the average person in central and southern Iraq is 25 cents per person per day. Currently, the UN is offering to allow Iraq to sell $5.26 billion worth of oil every six months. However, Iraq says it cannot pump more than $4 billion worth of oil because of the deterioration of oil field equipment under sanctions. This claim was corroborated by a team of experts working for the United Nations who stated that "the deplorable state of Iraq's petroleum industry will prevent it from exporting the $5.26 billion worth of oil." (AP 4-16-98) In light of damages caused by 7 years of comprehensive sanctions coupled with Gulf War bombardment, even the $5.2 billion offer is grossly inadequate to repair Iraq's shattered infrastructure, a medical system near total collapse, and a destroyed economy.
Myth #7 Doubling the amount of oil Iraq is allowed to sell, under Resolution 986, would enable the Iraqi government to meet the population's need for medicine and medical relief.
In an interview with the February, 1998 VitW delegation, Dr. Habib Rejeb, MD, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Iraq, said that such revenue would meet Iraqi needs in terms of purchasing medicine "but you would be providing this in a vacuum because you don't have the equipment. If you buy laboratory materials and you don't have the equipment it's useless....you give antibiotics but because of the poor hygiene in hospitals it's unlikely that you can prevent cross-infections. If you don't provide the proper food in hospitals then you can't enhance recovery. You can't really work without electricity, you can't really work without water, and you can't work safely while stepping on sewage which comes out often. To improve the health situation you don't only need drugs because this is the tip of the iceberg....If you want to provide the proper care to the population then you have to rehabilitate the infrastructure."
Myth #8 The Iraqi government does not care about its people and siphons off material aid intended for civilians.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Program (WFP) have carefully monitored Iraqi distribution of all food and medicine purchased under Resolution 986 auspices. In February, 1998, Voices in the Wilderness members interviewed officials from the WHO and the WFP. Both UN organizations gave an "A" rating to the Iraqi government distribution of food and medicine throughout every governorate. Over the past two years, dozens of doctors in Iraqi hospitals have told our delegations that they believe distribution of available medicines is fair. The problem is that desperately needed medicines are in short supply. They receive only 5 to 10 percent of the medicines they need to treat patients.
US officials and media pundits repeatedly refer to the opulence of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's palaces. They neglect to point out that Iraq has been building palaces for 7,000 years and that building anything puts Iraqis to work when unemployment is rampant. Construction of palaces, mosques and other buildings currently underway uses indigenous materials, doesn't require importation of sophisticated infrastructure materials (such as those needed to build hospitals and schools), and is largely financed with Iraqi dinars which are worthless outside Iraq. Why is there no similar outcry about the Pentagon's wasteful and destructive expenditures that siphon money away from meeting human needs in the United States. The US military pours taxpayer money into highly criticized B-2 Stealth Bombers at a cost of billions. What about ongoing US Defense Department development and possible use of new generations of weapons, including nuclear weapons?
Myth #9 The Iraqi regime represents a unique and monumental threat to world security.
US military planners have fanned a war hysteria based on fears of Iraq when in fact Iraq is a crippled country, badly damaged by UN/US imposed economic warfare and previous bombardments. The US government needs to distract the US public from the fact that in a post cold-war world, there are no enemy threats to justify current military spending.
Myth #10 An international consensus endorses US policy towards Iraq.
France, Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, have continually challenged the US position on sanctions and have opposed US military strikes. The Pope, 53 bishops and numerous other religious leaders have called for an end to sanctions and vigorously protested military strikes against Iraq. The Arab League has called for an immediate lifting of sanctions and deplored US threats to bomb Iraq. In fact, the US has acted in defiance of international consensus and has incurred mistrust and criticism for its arbitrary and selective enforcement of UN Resolutions.
Myth #11 The US military presence in the Middle East protects US national interests.
Whose interests is the US military protecting? Sacramento State University professor Dr. Ayad Al-Qazzaz notes that "before the gulf war, the Saudis exported less than five million barrels of oil a day. Today, as a result of sanctions against Iraq, the Saudis export more than nine million barrels a day. Since the imposition of sanctions against Iraq in 1990, Saudi Arabi has made more than 200 billion dollars. Most of this money is spent in the US by buying billions of dollars of military equipment." US arms merchants have sold a whole new generation of high-tech weaponry not only to Saudi Arabia but also to Turkey, Egypt, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan and Israel. These sales actually prop up the US economy. The US government is protecting the interests of oil barons and war profiteers. The interests of the majority of US people lie in developing just and equitable relations with people in the Middle East. Our interest lies in cutting the $300 billion dollar Pentagon budget and using those funds for better schools, jobs and education.
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