| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"~Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
02 Aug 2005 05:10:32 PM |
| Object: |
"What, me worry?" |
THE DESTRUCTION OF ECOLOGY IN IRAQ (1968- 2002)
DR WALID AL- HILLI
Iraq is known by its two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, both of which
rise in the eastern mountains of Turkey and enter Iraq along its
northwestern
borders. The Lower Mesopotamia possesses a number of cities of great
antiquity
such as Ur and Babylon. Civilization was well established in this region by
the 4th millennium BC, and a sophisticated irrigation system developed at
that
time. The Mesopotamian marshes have provided a home for to what they called
'Marsh Arabs' for at least five thousand years.
The Iraqi regime under the leadership of Saddam Hussein has committed the
following destructions of the Iraqi ecology:
1-The destruction of Kurdish cities in northern Iraq:
The regime bombarded hundreds of villages and towns by Napalms and other
prohibited bombs during the years 1968- 1975 in order to suppress the
Kurdish
resistance in northern Iraq. In March 1988, the town of Halabja was wiped
out
by poisonous chemical bombs. Around 10,000 Kurds were killed or injured.
2- The destruction caused by invading Iran ( 1980- 1988)
Saddam Hussein invaded Iran on 22 September 1980 and caused the following
destructions:
2.1-The continuous bombardments of cities and towns occupied by civilians
causing deaths and destruction of houses, mosques, ancient places and other
places.
2.2-Saddam Hussein's regime used chemical weapons during his war with Iran.
He widely used poisonous, as well as asphyxiating or other gases, and of all
analogous liquids, materials or devices that were prohibited, along with the
use of bacteriological methods of warfare, in the 17 June 1925 Geneva
Protocol, which entered into force on 8 February1928.
Mustard is bis (2-chloroethyl) sulphide, an oily liquid with a garlic-like
smell. Even in warm weather it evaporates slowly enough for an area over
which
it has been scattered to remain dangerous for many hours, even days, yet
fast
enough for the imperceptible vapour that it gives off also to cause
casualties. Mustard gas can be spread from munitions deliverable by
virtually
any type of weapon, including the mortars, artillery and aircraft with which
Iraqi forces are reported to have used it (1).
The second poison gas identified by the UN team was the nerve-gas tabun.
Tabun, or ethyl NN-dimethylphosphoramidocyanidate is a liquid that
evaporates
only half as fast as mustard gas, but so powerful a poison is it that even
short exposure to small concentrations of its vapour can result in almost
immediate symptoms, felt first in the eyes (as a persistent contraction of
the
pupil) and chest (as a tightness or asthma-like constriction). deadlier
nerve
gases that offer still more potential for rapid mass-destruction: agents
such
as the sarin, VX (1).
2.3- Destroying oil installations in Iran
2.4-The destruction and damages caused by the war to Shatt-al- Arab river.
2.5-The damages of wetlands
Haur Al Hawizeh suffered the most damage of all Iraqi wetlands during the
fighting of the prolonged Iraq-Iran War (1980-88) that took place in and
around the wetlands, and caused considerable damage to the marsh ecosystems.
Several of the greatest battles of the war took place in these marshes, and
involved extensive burning, heavy bombing and shelling, and widespread use
of
chemical weapons. Large areas of reed-beds were deliberately destroyed by
Iraqi troops in Haur Al Hawizeh and the Central Marshes during searches for
deserters; heavily armoured boats were used to crash through reed-beds,
special reed-cutting machines were used, and large areas were simply set on
fire.
3- The destruction caused by invading Kuwait
Saddam Hussein ordered the Iraqi army to invade Kuwait on 2 August 1990 that
caused:
3.1-The destruction of many places in Kuwait causing extensive damages.
3.2-Saddam Hussein used oil to pollute the region's air, sea and land.
Saddam Hussein ordered the burning of more than 640 oil wells and the
complete
destruction of 92 others. This caused 100,000 tons of poisonous gases to be
released into the air daily, affecting people, animals, plants and
vegetation
of many countries. The marine oil spill was the biggest of the world's sea
disasters and killed thousands of sea inhabitants and birds. It is not only
the problem of air pollution but it extended to the soil influencing the
wild
plants and to the sea by destroying fishes and other animals.
It was estimated that at least three million barrels of oil (120 million
gallons) came from five oil tankers which were anchored at the port of
Madina
al-Ahmadi for five months. Additional amounts of crude, perhaps as much as
onboard the tankers, is also being pumped into the Gulf from onshore storage
facilities.
3.3-The distribution of around two millions different types of mines in the
Kuwaiti land and sea.
These mines caused many deaths and injures of people in addition to its
destruction to environment.
The Allied forces under the leadership of the United States of America
imposed
the Gulf War 2 on Iraq when the regime refused to withdraw from Kuwait. This
War caused catastrophic damages to the ecology of Iraq.
4- The drainage of Southern Iraq Marshes
4.1- Three months after the Gulf War 2 (in June 1991), Saddam's regime
embarked upon a massive programme of hydrological control and wetland
drainage
in Lower Mesopotamia, in an area that is roughly delineated by the triangle
of
Amara, Nasiriya and Basrah.
The so called "Third River" was established for the announced purpose, meant
of removing highly saline irrigation drainage water from 1.5 million
hectares
of agricultural land between the Tigris and Euphrates in central Iraq. A
Landsat image taken in August 1992 reveals that large areas of the
northwestern, western and southern shores of the haur Al Hawizel have been
drained, using river control and *****-building, apparently for security
reasons.
A comparison of Landsat images taken in 1984/85 and 1991/92 revealed that
the
area of permanent lakes and marshes, seasonal marshes and temporary marshes
in
Lower Mesopotamia had been reduced by over 25% from 1.94 million hectares to
1.44 million hectares during this seven-year period (2). The engineering
works
that has been done to drain the marshes was for military and political
purposes, rather than for agricultural purposes. In any event, there can be
no
doubt that the greater part of the Central Marshes and much of the Haur Al
Hammar marshes have now been drained, with disastrous ecological, social and
human consequences for the region.
3.2- The effect of drainage of Marshes on wetland habitats
Many scientists have reported that (3) the 'drainage of the wetlands of
Lower
Mesopotamia on this scale would almost certainly result in the global
extinction of Lutra perspicillata maxwelli and Erythronesokia bunnii, the
extinction in the Middle East of Anhinga rufa and Threskiornis aethiopicus,
and the extinction in Iraq of Phalacrocorax pygmaeus and Ardea goliath.
Loss of these wetland habitats would also cause catastrophic declines in the
world populations of Turdoides altirostris and Acrocephalus griseldis and in
the regional population of Pelecanus crispus, possibly threatening them with
extinction, and would cause perhaps as much as a 50% reduction in the world
populations of Gerbillus mesopotamiae, Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis and
Marmaronetta angustirostris. Drainage of these wetlands would also have an
adverse effect on the populations of about 40 species of birds which occur
in
the marshes in internationally significant numbers, and would cause major
declines in the regional populations of Pelecanus onocrotalus (30-60%),
Ardea
purpurea (>10%), Ixobrychus minutus (>10%), Plegadis falcinellus (>10%),
Aythya fuligula (>20%), Circus aeruginosus (>10%), Porphyrio porphyrio
(>50%)
and Fulica atra (10-20%). Migratory populations of waterfowl would be
affected
over a very wide area from the West Siberian tundra to southern Africa, as
one
of the major staging and wintering areas in the West Siberian/Caspian/Nile
flyway is lost. Clearly, as far as wildlife is concerned, the ongoing
drainage
of the wetlands of Lower Mesopotamia constitutes an ecological catastrophe
of
unprecedented proportions in Western Eurasia.'
5- The threat of depleted Uranium and Gulf War Syndrome
Approximately 700,000 members of the United States Armed Forces were
deployed
to the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations during the Gulf War. Depleted
Uranium munitions were fired at, and destroyed, thousands of Iraqi tanks and
vehicles during the Gulf War, scattering over 350 tons of Depleted Uranium
throughout the theater of operations. 'During the Gulf War 2 up to 800 tons
of
munitions containing depleted uranium were used by United States forces in
military actions in Kuwait and Iraq. This was the first field test of these
weapon in actual combat, and they proved to be exceptionally effective
anti-tank projectiles due to their superior Armour-piercing capacity(4).
Depleted uranium contain about 30% less than normal of 235/U, a dangerous
radioisotope of uranium used in nuclear bombs and commercial power plants.
It
is a byproduct of extraction of 235/U form natural uranium. Much of depleted
uranium is 238/U with a half life of 4 billion years. Depleted uranium
vaporizes when deployed in armour-piercing bullets. Scientific studies
indicate if as much as one small particle (<5 microns in diameter) enters
the
lungs, the lungs and surrounding tissue will be exposed to 270 times the
radiation permitted for workers in the radiation industry (4).
Bertell in his report concluded (5) that "some potential radio-protective
agents are thiols (also called mercaptans, these are organosulfur compounds
that are derivatives of hydrogen sulfide), nitroxides (used as a food
aerosol
and an anesthetic), cytokines (non-antibody proteins released by one cell
population, e.g T-lymphocytes, generating an immune response), eicosanoids
(biologically active substances derived from arachidonic acid, including the
prostaglandins and leukotrienes), antioxidants and modifiers of apoptosis
(fragmentation of a cell into small membrane bound particle which are then
eliminated by phagocytes)".
Fahey (6) in his research pointed out that American aircraft and American
and
British tanks fired hundreds of thousands of armor-piercing depleted uranium
(DU) during Operation Desert Storm that penetrates at Iraqi tanks and other
armored vehicles. When a depleted uranium round impacts a target, up to 70%
of
the round burns up, causing radioactive and chemically toxic dust to be
scattered in and around the target (7). (American A-10 "Tank Killer"
aircraft
fired approximately 940,000 small-caliber DU rounds, while American M1 and
M1A1 tanks fired approximately 4,000 large-caliber DU rounds in combat).
This
dust can be transported by the wind or in water, and can enter the human
body
via inhalation, ingestion, or wound contamination. In addition, soldiers
inside vehicles hit by DU rounds may be wounded by depleted uranium
shrapnel.
More than one thousand Iraqi tanks and other vehicles were destroyed and
contaminated by DU rounds.
U.S. Army reports which have been released or leaked to the public reveal
that
military commanders were aware of the serious health and environmental
consequences of using depleted uranium bullets before Operation Desert
Storm.
A July 1990 Army report clearly warns that large numbers of soldiers could
be
exposed to depleted uranium contamination on the battlefield. Army reports
further note that the short and long-term health effects of inhaled or
ingested depleted uranium particles include cancers, kidney problems, and
birth defects causing what is called Gulf War Syndrome.
Civilian populations in Kuwait and Iraq are still being exposed to the more
than 600,000 pounds of depleted uranium dust and fragments which remain on
Gulf War battlefields (8). A 1991 United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
report warned that the depleted uranium left on Gulf War battlefields could
cause 500,000 deaths among exposed soldiers and civilians (9).
There are reports to indicate the effect of depleted uranium on the Iraqi
people, plants, animals and ecology. For example that thousand of palm trees
lost their head after the Gulf War 11.
6- The effect of the UN economic sanctions on Iraqi people
Equally underreported was the war's devastating impact upon civilian
populations in the aftermath of the systematic destruction from the air and
water and sewerage infrastructure of Iraq. The Allied forces targeted
bombing
of over forty biochemical and nuclear facilities without considering the
effect of poisonous gases and chemicals on people, environment, animals and
plants. This is in itself an ecological catastrophe.
Saddam Hussein is using the 'sanctions weapon' to suppress and oppress Iraqi
people who are extremely suffering from the very hardship health and
economic
life, in addition to its effect in all aspects of ecology. The United
Nations
backed by US is using the economic sanctions in order to force the regime to
implement the UN resolutions.
The tragedy of destroying Iraq's ecology would be most dangerous to the
lives
of people and environment if it continues with the same way as the last 10
years. The real solution to Iraq's problem is to put Saddam Hussein and his
regime on trial and to help the Iraqi people to built the future of Iraq
with
prosperity, peace and security.
References
1- Julian Perry Robinson and Jozef Goldblat authors from 'Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute', SIPRI FACT SHEET, Chemical Weapons
I,
May 1984.
2- Maltby paper in 1994 from A Directory of Wetlands in the Middle East,
edited by Scott, D.A. in 1995. Printed by: Information Press, Oxford, U.K..
Published by: IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland and the
International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau, Slimbridge, U.K.
and Joint WHO / UNICEF Team Report: A Visit to Iraq (New York: United
Nations,
1991). A report to the Secretary General, dated March 20, 1991 by
representatives of the U.N. Secretariat, UNICEF, UNDP, UNDRO, UNHCR, FAO and
WHO. Amnesty International Reports, 1991, pp. 122-124.
3- Scott and Evans paper in (1993) from A Directory of Wetlands in the
Middle
East, edited by Scott, D.A. in 1995. Printed by: Information Press, Oxford,
U.K.. Published by: IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland
and
the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau, Slimbridge, U.K.
4- Reported from U.N., commission of Human Rights,
Fifty-third session, Item 5 of the provisional agenda , Human Rights and
Toxics: Depleted Uranium and the Gulf War.
5- Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D., G.N.S.H, Gulf War Veterans and Depleted Uranium
Potential US Government administration of radio-protective substances to
combat military:
6- Dan Fahey, Depleted Uranium, The Stone Unturned, A Report on Exposures of
Persian Gulf War Veterans and Others to Depleted Uranium Contamination in
March 28, 1997, published by Swords to Plowshares.
7. U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI), Health and Environmental
Consequences of Depleted Uranium Use in the U.S. Army: Technical Report,
June
1995: 78.
8. Ibid.: 39 and A-10; also Lopez, D., Friendly Fire: The Link Between
Depleted Uranium Munitions and Human Health Risks, March 1995: 3; and
Lowenstein, P., "Industrial Uses of Depleted Uranium," photocopy in
Bukowski,
et. al., Uranium Battlefields Home and Abroad, March 1993: 136.
9.Cohen, Nick, The Independent (U.K.), "Radioactive waste left in Gulf by
allies", November 10, 1991, photocopy in Bukowski, et. al., Uranium
Battlefields Home and Abroad, March 1993:110.
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