Letter Never Sent

Why did we attack Iraq during the Gulf War? Why are we about to attack them now? I know why the Bush gang wants to and I know the crass justifications they give, but what I really want to know is why are people rolling over to take this? The US wants to maintain coercive influence in the Mideast because we need more and more oil to prop up our extravagence. Everyone knows this, but they pretend like the real reason has to do with some threat posed by Iraq’s dictator. Our dictator and their dictator don’t get along too well, and this spells trouble for the people living in Iraq and the people who will be sent to slaughter and be slaughtered. The Bushes and the Husseins of the world don’t care one bit about things like that. In fact, they delusionally believe they are doing what’s right. We need to shake these parasites off.

Ok, the rant is over here’s why I posted in the first place (via Projecte Censored):

When the U.S. military took on Saddam Hussein in 1991, American planes strategically obliterated Iraq’s water system. Then, with the war over and the water system in ruins, the United States imposed sanctions barring the importation of water purification equipment. The combined effect of this one-two punch was the slow death of thousands of Iraqis � something not unexpected by the U.S. military.

Reporting for the Progressive magazine, Thomas J. Nagy unearthed the Defense Intelligence Agency documents detailing all of this. In fact, Nagy’s scoop showcases, yet again, the laziness of mainstream media: the now declassified documents are online, at an official government Web site, www.gulflink.osd.mil.

Here’s a sample from a January 1991 document titled, “Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities”: “Iraq depends on importing specialized equipment and some chemicals to purify its water supply, most of which is heavily mineralized and frequently brackish to saline. With no domestic sources of both water treatment replacement parts and some essential chemicals, Iraq will continue attempts to circumvent United Nations Sanctions to import these vital commodities. Failing to secure supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of the population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not epidemics, of disease.”

One commodity Iraq was banned from importing was chlorine, a chemical used for both chemical weapons and water sanitization. The Defense Department knew a shortage of chlorine would kill � and has kept the ban in place for the past decade. “Unless the water is purified with chlorine, epidemics of such diseases as cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid could occur,” the brief noted.

Ten years on, the U.N. estimates 500,000 children have died as a result of the sanctions, and Hussein remains, for the moment anyway, in power.

Thomas J. Nagy, the Progressive, September 2001.

I was talking to my Uncle once (he’s a Master Sergeant in the Army and a Gulf War veteran) and he said that he didn’t have a problem fighting Iraq if for no other reason than it keeps gasoline cheap. People in the service know why we fight who we do. It’s not about someone attacking America or Americans. It’s power and money.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 1st, 2002 at 3:35 pm and is filed under History. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.