Iraq: A victim of international terrorism

Iraq: A victim of international terrorism
By Ghali Hassan
Online Journal Contributing Writer

Mar 17, 2006, 12:46

‘Terrorism is the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature. This is done through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear’ <1>.

‘Terrorism is the use, or threat, of action which is violent, damaging or disrupting, and is intended to influence the government or intimidate the public and is for purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause,’ Britain Terrorism Act 2000.

<snip>

According to Michael Mandel, professor of Law at York University in Canada; “If we judge by the standards laid down by the Nuremberg Tribunal that judged the Nazis after World War II, it is the supreme international crime.” <5> The Nazis who committed war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity were indicted and sentenced to death by hanging. So, in a just world, the perpetrators and promoters of the war on Iraq must be held accountable and stand trial on war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity.

During the three-week massive attacks on a defenceless people, Western leaders proudly announced to their nations that the one-sided mass murder of innocent Iraqi civilians was “morally” justified to spread “freedom” and “democracy.” Once again, Iraq was completely destroyed in barbaric fashion. Iraq’s cultural heritage was deliberately burned or looted. The Iraqi state, including the Iraqi Army and police were disbanded and replaced by occupying forces and imported criminals. The Pentagon and the UN estimate that the US and Britain “used 1,100 to 2,200 tons of bombs made of DU during attacks on Iraq in March and April 2003 -- far more than the 320-800 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War,” reported the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on 04 August 2004. Today, the US continues its war crimes against the Iraqi people with indiscriminate bombing air raids on Iraqi towns and cities, killing innocent women and children and destroying properties in a barbaric and cowardly fashion.

After three years of violent occupation, the living conditions in Iraq have worsened since the invasion. There is no clean water and there is no adequate supply of electricity. Iraq remains a destroyed nation. The health care system is beyond repair and the education system has collapsed. A study conducted by the Norway-based Institute of Applied International Studies, or Fafo, in cooperation with Iraq's Central Office for Statistics and Information Technology, Iraq's Health Ministry, and the UNDP, reveals that acute malnutrition among Iraqi children between the ages of six months and 5 years has increased from 4 percent before the invasion to 7.7 per cent since the US invasion. In other words, despite the 13-year long genocidal sanctions, Iraqi children were living much better (by 3.7 percent) under the regime of Saddam Hussein than under the tyranny of George W. Bush. The study shows that about 400,000 Iraqi children are suffering from 'wasting' and 'emaciation' -- conditions of chronic diarrhoea and protein deficiency.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_602.shtml

By definition.

continue to support BushCo's war . . . they KNOW that what the US has done/is doing to Iraq is terrorism at its worse -- and they KNOW that they voted to let it happen . . .

admitting that the Iraq invasion and occupation are war crimes (and that what's happening to the Iraqi people is a crime against humanity) would be admitting their culpability . . . in their cowardice, they'd rather allow the carnage to continue than to acknowledge their role in making it happen in the first place . . .

both the president and the Congress are responsible for Iraq . . . they'll either get away with it together, or hang together . . .