A Final Solution for the Cradle of Civilisation?

In the last week, the United Nations, CARE, the International Rescue Agency, Oxfam, Unicef, and others have warned of the humanitarian disaster which will befall the Iraqi population (particularly those in large cities) should the United States launch its much-desired war. Aid agencies are working with the UN to try to prevent a humanitarian disaster, but, "At this stage we don't have any resources to implement any plans," according to a UN spokesman.

A war will create 900,000 refugees who will need to be cared for, 500,000 casualties requiring medical treatment, and 5 million hungry who will need to be fed.

"Millions of Iraqis could face hunger and disease," and, "If any military strike disrupted Iraqi authorities' distribution of food or the transport network, there could be very, very serious humanitarian consequences," says Ed Cairns, of Oxfam. He also warns that, ""Water and sanitation are electrically pumped in much of Iraq. So targeting of electricity supplies for military reasons could also have a very severe civilian effect," and that, "The public health statistics in Iraq are already grim and we would be very concerned that an existing humanitarian crisis could be tipped over the edge into catastrophe."

It's worth recalling that none of these warnings even discuss the long-term effects of either the massive civilian destruction or of the planned use by the United States of radiological weaponry.

At the same time, CBS is reporting that the American military's current war plan calls for launching 800 cruise missiles -- more that were launched in the entire Gulf War -- upon Iraq in the first two days of war. A Pentagon "official" assuress that, "There will not be a safe place in Baghdad," while the plan's co-creator compares it to the Hiroshima bombing, and rejoices that, "You also take the city down. By that I mean you get rid of their power, water." Dropping even the pretense of striving to minimise so-called "collateral damage", the plan advocates, "a regime of Shock and Awe through delivery of instant, nearly incomprehensible levels of massive destruction directed at influencing society writ large, meaning its leadership and public, rather than targeting directly against military or strategic objectives." (Alas, the "pretense" was just public posturing anyway. The U.S. military has long utilised these sorts of methods. The Air Force has boasted, for example, of the first Gulf War, that, "The loss of electricity shut down the capital's water treatment plants and led to a public health crisis from raw sewage dumped in the Tigris River.")

In other words, the Pentagon is openly -- even elatedly -- planning an unprecedented barrage upon civilian infrastructure (in a country already suffering from twelve years of debilitating sanctions), even as humanitarian relief agencies are warning that such an attack will produce catastrophic consequences for the civilian population.

I don't know about your dictionary, but mine defines "genocide" as: "The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group." That's what the U.S. is planning, and it appears we've got about a month to prevent it happening. It's time for us to inundate the White and the Congress with a barrage of our own: postcards, letters, phone calls, faxes. And if ever there were a time to stop paying taxes and stop driving cars, this would seem to be it.

Will the genocide be prevented? It's up to us.

Posted by Eddie Tews at January 29, 2003 01:54 PM