See Men Shredded, and Then Say You Don't Back War

See men shredded, then say you don't back war

By Ann Clwyd

“There was a machine designed for shredding plastic. Men were dropped into it and we were again made to watch. Sometimes they went in head first and died quickly. Sometimes they went in feet first and died screaming. It was horrible. I saw 30 people die like this. Their remains would be placed in plastic bags and we were told they would be used as fish food . . . on one occasion, I saw Qusay [President Saddam Hussein’s youngest son] personally supervise these murders.”

This is one of the many witness statements that were taken by researchers from Indict — the organisation I chair — to provide evidence for legal cases against specific Iraqi individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This account was taken in the past two weeks.
Another witness told us about practices of the security services towards women: “Women were suspended by their hair as their families watched; men were forced to watch as their wives were raped . . . women were suspended by their legs while they were menstruating until their periods were over, a procedure designed to cause humiliation.”

The accounts Indict has heard over the past six years are disgusting and horrifying. For these humanitarian reasons alone, it is essential to liberate the people of Iraq from the regime of Saddam. The 17 UN resolutions passed since 1991 on Iraq include Resolution 688, which calls for an end to repression of Iraqi civilians. It has been ignored. Torture, execution and ethnic-cleansing are everyday life in Saddam’s Iraq.

For more than 20 years, senior Iraqi officials have committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This list includes far more than the gassing of 5,000 in Halabja and other villages in 1988. It includes serial war crimes during the Iran-Iraq war; the genocidal Anfal campaign against the Iraqi Kurds in 1987-88; the invasion of Kuwait and the killing of more than 1,000 Kuwaiti civilians; the violent suppression, which I witnessed, of the 1991 Kurdish uprising that led to 30,000 or more civilian deaths; the draining of the Southern Marshes during the 1990s, which ethnically cleansed thousands of Shias; and the summary executions of thousands of political opponents.

Many Iraqis wonder why the world applauded the military intervention that eventually rescued the Cambodians from Pol Pot and the Ugandans from Idi Amin when these took place without UN help. They ask why the world has ignored the crimes against them?

All these crimes have been recorded in detail by the UN, the US, Kuwaiti, British, Iranian and other Governments and groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Indict. Yet the Security Council has failed to set up a war crimes tribunal on Iraq because of opposition from France, China and Russia. As a result, no Iraqi official has ever been indicted for some of the worst crimes of the 20th century.

This evil, fascist regime must come to an end. With or without the help of the Security Council, and with or without the backing of the Labour Party in the House of Commons tonight.

The author is Labour MP for Cynon Valley.

Me-

Yeah. The appeasers are standing on some real moral high ground as they oppose the liberation of the Iraqi people. Their mamas must be real proud.

For more thoughts on the war, politics and spiritual life, pop over to http://www.sabot.bloggedup.com.

DeputyDan-

It IS interesting, isn't it? The same people (mostly, there are of course exceptions to everything) who most ardently oppose the war are those who have fought tooth-and-nail to keep legalized abortion. Something which has killed around 40 million innocents at last count. Too bad cognitive dissonance isn't painful.

Here's a good article my wife came across:

Egyptian Economist: Economic Interests Guide the French, Germans, and Russians Toward Baghdad

In a report which appeared on Al Jazeera's website, Egyptian economist Khalil Al-'Anani discussed the economic underpinnings of France, Germany, and Russia in their opposition to the war in Iraq, analyzing the positions of each of the countries. The following is a summary of the report (1):

The French Economy
France's opposition to the war in Iraq, rather than being based on political considerations, its historical ties with the Arab world, or an attempt to challenge America's role as superpower, is motivated by pure economic interests. Despite France's attempts to portray its stance against the war as a political one, it is difficult not to imagine the economic benefits to France if the war had not occurred. The consequences of war on the weak French economy will be palpable primarily in the oil and commercial sectors.

Oil Losses
Ten years ago, the French oil company Total/Fina/Elf signed an agreement with Iraq to share oil production in the "Majnoon" and "bin Omar" oil fields upon the termination of the sanctions on Iraq. The Majnoon oil field is located near the Iranian border and is estimated to contain 30 billion barrels of oil. This field alone could meet French consumption needs for 30 years.

The bin Omar oil field may contain 6 billion barrels which could produce 440,000 barrels per day (b/d), conceivably rising rapidly to 500,000 b/d. The investments in both fields were estimated at $3.4 billion and the cost of production will be $2 per barrel (which will be one of the cheapest in the world, perhaps second only to Saudi Arabia).

Commercial Losses
French exports to Iraq have increased sharply in recent years. They were valued at $330 million in 2000, doubled in 2001, and went over $1 billion in 2002. In the most recent international fair held in Baghdad in late 2002, 150 French companies took part. War in Iraq could mean:

* A spike in oil prices at a time of economic slow-down in the world economy.
* That the post-Saddam regime may not honor its predecessor's agreements with France, particularly those relating to oil exploration and production.

France is also concerned that, after a war in Iraq, it will fare no better than after the Gulf War in 1991, which brought only a few contracts to France.

The German Economy
The German economy is going through difficult times with a GDP growth in 2002 of 0.2% and unemployment of 11.3% which translates into 4.06 million unemployed workers. The reduction in taxes collected, coupled with rising unemployment benefits, could drive German deficits above the 3% ceiling established by the European Union, which would invite punitive measures. The war in Iraq could result in two immediate negative consequences for the German economy: first, a decline in German exports which is the main engine for German economic growth; and second, higher oil prices could intensify the German economic slow-down.

The Russian Economy
Not unlike the case of France, it is difficult to overlook the extent and depth of the economic relations between Russia and Iraq which extend over 40 years. Here, again, economic considerations drive the Russian position vis-à-vis the war on Iraq.

Oil Losses
Russia produces 7.3 million b/d, which is 9.7% of world production, but it exports only a half of its production. Its reserves are estimated at 48.6 billion b/d, or 4.6% of world reserves (oil reserve figures are considered a state secret in Russia and have never been confirmed). The cost of production is $12 per barrel compared with less than $2 for the Iraqi oil. It is not surprising that Russia covets Iraqi oil only. In addition, there are currently 300 Russian companies which manage the export of Iraqi oil under the "Oil for Food" program. Russia has signed as many as 900 oil contracts with Iraq since 1996.

The Russian oil company Lukoil (14% of which is owned by the Russian government) signed an agreement with Iraq for exploration in the western Qurna oil field which may contain as much as 100 billion barrels of oil and is capable of producing 450,000-500,000 b/d. Iraq has also signed a $3.4 billion agreement with Stroitransgaz to develop the gas fields in the western desert.

However, unlike France and Germany, Russia is concerned that the rapid increase in oil production by Iraq could bring down the oil prices in the international market, which would have a serious impact on government revenues which rely heavily on oil.

Commercial Losses
The war in Iraq will have considerable effects on the Russian commercial interests:

* The loss of business with one of Russia's leading trading partners in the Middle East, particularly in the fields of oil and petrochemical industries.
* The loss of $8 billion of Iraqi debt to the former Soviet Union, which a new regime might not acknowledge.
* The loss of multi-billion dollar contracts with military and commercial suppliers to Iraq.

Me again:

I find it interesting that the anti-war crowd cannot stop talking about PAST American complicity with Saddam. Yet they are strangely silent about ONGOING AND CONTINUOUS complicity by their heroes Germany, Russia and France. It'll be interesting to see how popular those countries are with the newly liberated people of Iraq.

Cool news!

Ann Clwyn has written another piece which appears on the Labour Party website. I haven't liked a Socialist this much since Hemingway.

Here's the link: http://www.labour.org.uk/clwydiraq240303/

And here's the link to the Human Right's group, for anyone interested. The "Crimes" link has a good list of Saddam's war crimes. Good for when the anti-war crowd wants to pretend that only American bombs are killing the innocent... Here's the link to Indict: http://www.labour.org.uk/clwydiraq240303/

l33tace-

Sure! It's from MEMRI, which is an amazing resource. They translate first-source docs from Arabic into English. They were the ones who translated Yasser Arafat's speeches calling for all sorts of terroristic things in Arabic while making nice, peaceful sounds in English at other locations for his American and Euro audience...

Here's the link:

http://www.memri.de/uebersetzungen_analysen/themen/oekonomie/eco_irak_27_03_03.html