I would like to bring forth this political, as well as humanitarian, issue of America’s War for Oil in Iraq. Before the Coalition’s attack on Iraq, the country had never directly threatened America, nor have the mythical ‘weapons of mass destruction’ been since found, to gratify President Bush’s implications.
Can anyone justify the Humanitarian Disaster?
I can not justify it, however I can point out things that usually get forgotten.
For instance, what of How Saddam genocidally poisoned villages within his own country just because they had different religious beliefs and doctorines.
How Iraq originally invaded Kuwait and when the original conflict broke out, those that supported western intervention for sought out an executed by Iraq's state for treason. (Those killed believed that western intervention would save them from such genocidal acts)
How the numbers of soldiers and people killed during that initial conflict had died for nothing more than the liberation of Kuwait.
How Iraq (and Afghanistan) for years have been Cold War political arena's, where deals were done, weapons were sold and other governments attempted to utilise others as pawns.
How such countries are the "opposite side of the earth", the suggestion that any forms of military control or even government reach is lessened by the distance in relationship to the position of the country attempting to formulate control.
For those who think the end of Sadam’s reign is something dreadful for the Muslim world, it is a fact worth mentioning, that the Iraqi Government under him was not on very cordial terms with other Muslim Nations. Two stark examples of this enmity are the wars with Iran and the invasion of Kuwait, both Muslim countries.
I agree with Stryder, the fact is that though the Iraqi’s would like to be independent and the method of disposing off Sadam was not ideal but it can not be denied that Sadam’s reign was a reign of terror for the Iraqi people . They would be feeling better off without him and his relatives in positions of unquestionable power!
Hopefully, the region will regain peace in the near future.
I would like to bring forth this political, as well as humanitarian, issue of America’s War for Oil in Iraq. Before the Coalition’s attack on Iraq, the country had never directly threatened America, nor have the mythical ‘weapons of mass destruction’ been since found, to gratify President Bush’s implications.
Can anyone justify the Humanitarian Disaster?
"War for Oil" ????
Obviously it was not a war for oil. The US has done NOTHING to appropriate Iraq oil. Fact is, Iraq is pumping less oil now then even under the UN sanctioned/controlled "oil for food" program. Remember that this was the program that the UN used to line the pockets of not only its own members but via bribes and kickbacks a substantial number of political party members from the countries that did not want us to oust Saddam by force. Of course not, they were getting rich.
Between 1997 and 2002, the sale of oil under this program made $67 billion but there was zip oversight from the UN on how this money was spent. Saddam is estimated to have generated over $10 billion in illegal revenues by exploiting the Oil-for-Food program (smuggling through Syria and through illicit surcharges on oil contracts). Saddam used the money he made off of the Oil for Food program to stay in power through a global network of companies and politicians who got rich from the program. The list includes many UN staffers, 46 Russians and 11 Frenchmen.
Russian companies received $7.3 billion in business and French firms earned $3.7 billion.
The United Nations administered the program using 10 U.N. agencies, employing over 1,000 staff and for this the UN collected 2.2 percent commission on every barrel of oil.
But since you bring up "humanitarian disaster", the war was not, but the embargo and "oil for food" program certainly was. This lasted over a decade and during that time, based on very credible reports (including the UN itself) the impact of the embargo and the fact that Saddam STILL controlled the proceeds from the sale of the oil, the death rate in Iraq soared. It is estimated that approx 50,000 to 60,000 children died EVERY YEAR, directly because of the embargo.
Denis Halliday, head of UN humanitarian operations in Iraq, told a briefing in Washington, DC that UN estimates of 5,000 to 6,000 Iraqi children dying every month were "probably modest."
According to UN figures, the death rate among Iraqi children has risen from 7,000 a year in 1989, the last full year before the embargo was imposed, to 57,000 in 1996.
And yes, innocent Iraqis have died over the last 2 years, but come on, have you forgotten the previous 20 years? Iraq has been in an almost PERPETUAL state of war for this entire period. It fought an 8 year war with Iran that killed well over 1 million, then it invaded Kuwait precipitating the first Gulf War. That invasion left thousands of Kuwaitis dead, about 30,000 Iraqis dead and 300 dead from America and its allies.
Well we've been in Iraq 2 years and while Iraq still has AREAS of unrest, the oil for food scam has ended and the death toll from lack of clean water, medicine and food has been reversed and the ANNUAL death toll is nowhere near the number of people that Saddam ordered to their deaths every year (on average) for the past 20 years.
Politically, the majority Shites are no longer disenfranchised and the people have elected their OWN provisional government which is in the process of drafting a Constitution and setting up for the election that will restore control of Iraq fully to the Iraqi people.
The US has paid for this in money and more importantly with the lives of our soldiers and workers and those of our allies.
It could be said that the ousting of Saddam and the rebuilding of Iraq could be one of the largest and most expensive humanitarian projects ever undertaken.
I would like to bring forth this political, as well as humanitarian, issue of America’s War for Oil in Iraq. Before the Coalition’s attack on Iraq, the country had never directly threatened America, nor have the mythical ‘weapons of mass destruction’ been since found, to gratify President Bush’s implications.
Can anyone justify the Humanitarian Disaster?
humanitarian
You misspelled humilitarian, it should be humiliation and bigotry Tarian. _________________ Hemetis
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. They would be feeling better off without him and his relatives in positions of unquestionable power!
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