News Clippings That Show the Reality of
the Persian Gulf War

 

    Bravo Company calls itself "The Nasty Boys."       

"We like to get it done, get it done quickly, with as    

much viciousness as we can," Gonzales said.     

    Spec. 4 Daryl Smallwood, 21, of Gainesville,    

Ga., said his platoon is making up death cards-to    

place on Iraqi soldiers they kill.  His will read:    

"Personal Debt Paid."       

    "I got 50.  But I know I'll need more,"    

Smallwood said.    

--S.F. EXAMINER, December, 1990

      

 

When the U.N. voted 75 to 20 to condemn the United    

States' December 1989 invasion of Panama as "a    

flagrant violation of international law," the NBC    

Nightly  News ignored the vote entirely, while CBS    

lavished a full ten seconds on it.  But now that the    

U.N. was suddenly churning out resolution   

after resolution favored by American policy makers, it    

was rewarded with decorous front page coverage and    

tirelessly praised by. pundits and politicians alike    

for its newfound strength and maturity.   

--S.F. Examiner, January, 1991   

 

 

According to a study done by FAIR, the New York based    

media-monitoring organization, ABC, NBC and CBS    

devoted  2,855 minutes to gulf coverage  from Aug. 8,    

when the United  States began its military    

escalation, until Jan. 3.  Of all that air time, a    

grand total of 29 minutes were about popular    

opposition to the military solution.   

--S.F. EXAMINER, 2-11-91   

 

 

Percentage of U.S. oil supplied by Iraq and Kuwait    

prior to the war:   

5%.   

   

U.S. oil use that would be saved by increasing     

average car fuel efficiency by 2.8 mpg: 5%.   

 

 

DISEASES PLAGUE IRAQ   

By Keny Davidson,    

EXAMINER Science Writer   

   

    The United States could be held accountable for    

the destruction of water purification and sewage    

facilities . . . .   

    Such destruction has reportedly hastened the    

spread of cholera and other water-borne diseases,    

contributing to thousands of deaths of Iraqis,    

including children.   

    Fecal coliform tests of Iraqi water show the    

water system is so contaminated by diseases that they    

could persist another two to three years, said Ross    

Mirkarimi of San Francisco's Arms Control Re-search    

Center who returned Friday-day from a survey of Iraq.   

    Iraq's food production has dropped to 13 percent    

of normal, or less than one-fourth if one includes    

humanitarian food aid from abroad, Mirkarimi told a    

packed audience at Mission High School in San    

Francisco Saturday.  A major cause: the bombing of    

farms and facilities that had manufactured    

fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.   

    Continued U.S. sanctions have prevented many    

Iraqis from getting badly needed drugs, such as    

insulin for diabetics, said Berkeley physician Dr.    

David Levinson, who recently toured Iraq's medical    

facilities.   

    Children in some areas have begun eating dirt    

for its minimal nutritional content, said U.S.    

journalist Larry Everest following his visit there.     

Psychological damage is severe, "especially among    

children-from bed-wetting to severe phobias," Everest    

said.   

    Last week's report that U.S. forces used    

bulldozers and earth-movers to bury thousands of    

Iraqi soldiers alive in their trenches was the worst    

of ghastly American actions, panelists said.  U.S.    

planes attacked retreating soldiers more than 100    

miles from Kuwait, "many (of whom) had thrown off    

their helmets, tossed away their rifles and were just    

trying to walk to safety," Everest said.   

    The Until States dropped 88,000 tons of bombs,    

"the equivalent of six Hiroshimas."   

    Pentagon officials have consistently maintained    

U.S. action abided by international law.    

----SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, 9-15-91   

 

 

From The Nation, March 11, 1991 

 

No city, town, or roadside stop had any running    

water, electricity, telephone service, or adequate    

gasoline for transportation. The effect of this on    

the cities is a disaster.  Minister of Health    

Mohammed Said called the pollution of public water    

systems the greatest health problem in the country.    

Tens of thousands are known to be sick. Hundreds of    

thousands are assumed to be.   

    A study team from Harvard University visited    

Iraq in late April and early May to study the public    

health situation after the war.  The team reports:    

"Contrary to statements of both the Iraq government    

and Western journalists that the health situation is    

stable and will continue to improve, the study team    

finds that the state of medical care is desperate and    

unless conditions change substantially--will continue    

to deteriorate in every region and at nearly every    

provider level.  Despite the brief period of    

recuperation following the end of the Gulf War, a    

significant portion of Iraq's medical facilities--in    

some case 50 percent--have closed.  The medical    

system will continue to break; down over the next    

year due to acute shortages of medicines, equipment    

and staff.   

    The crisis is hitting especially hard at infants    

and children.  During the war the U.S. claimed that    

Iraq's only powdered milk factory was a "chemical    

weapons facility" and bombed it.  No there is a    

severe shortage of infant milk.  The price of one can    

of powdered infant formula has gone from about $1 to    

$50.  Poor families are allowed three cans per month    

from government store Ls at lower prices, but the    

minimum nutritional need for infants is ten cans per    

month.  Mothers are diluting infant formula with    

water to stretch out their supplies. The poor diet    

and contaminated water leave children vulnerable to    

diarrhea and dehydration.  And because of the    

severely disrupted health-care system, many of these    

children do not receive proper medical care and die.   

    The outlook for the coming months is grim. The    

team from Harvard reports: "This study documents a    

public health catastrophe.  Specifically, it projects    

that at least 170,000 children under five years of    

age will die in the coming year from the delayed    

effects of the current crisis.  This figure    

represents a 100 percent increase, or a doubling, in    

infant and child mortality since the start of the    

Gulf Crisis last year."   

    The Harvard team emphasizes that the estimate of    

170,000 was CONSERVATIVE.  The team explains: "Before    

the Gulf Crisis in 1990, about 50,000 children a year    

m Iraq died from gastroenteritis, Current hospital    

data show a twofold to tenfold increase in the number    

of children afflicted with the disease. These data    

also show more than a doubling of the rate of child    

death in hospitals from all causes, including    

gastroenteritis.   

    "In other words, at least twice as many children    

are admitted to hospitals with gastroenteritis, and    

of those admitted, at least twice as many die as    

before. Therefore, since there were 50,000 child    

deaths each year from gastroenteritis before the Gulf    

War, four times as many, or an additional 150,000    

child deaths from this disease can be expected m the    

coming year, unless conditions change.   

    "To repeat, this figure of 150,000 additional    

deaths is for gastroenteritis alone.  This figure    

does not include deaths from malnutrition,    

respiratory disease, or other common child illnesses.     

Hence, the estimate of 170,000 additional child    

deaths is probably low."   

    The Harvard study team focused on children under    

five. But they conclude: "A large increase in deaths    

among the rest of the population is also likely."   

    During the Gulf war Schwarzkopf, Powel and other    

U.S. military officials refused to give estimates    

about the number of Iraqi casualties--they said they    

were "not interested'' in the question.  Two months    

after the cease-fire the Pentagon finally came out    

with an estimate of 100,000 Iraqi soldiers dead and    

300,000 injured.  But the U.S. is still trying to    

cover up the suffering of the Iraq people caused by    

its war.  When a UN team which visited Iraq several    

weeks after the war wrote that the bombing had    

dragged the country back to "a pre-industrial age" and    

caused "near apocalyptic" damage, the U.S. government    

criticized the report.  A total of 268 U.S. troops    

died during the war.  Compare this to how many Iraqis    

the U S. and it's allies killed.  William Arkin,    

military research director for Greenpeace, writes:    

"The most accurate estimates are that 100,000 to    

120,000 Iraqi military personnel were killed in the    

war. From 74.000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died    

since August--from disease, malnutrition, civil war,    

and of course, the conflict.  Five thousand to 15.000    

civilians died in the air war.  Significantly, it is    

estimated that 80 percent to 90 percent of the    

civilian death occurred AFTER the cease-fire."     

Estimates are that at least 170,000 children and many     

other Iraqis will die from the effects of the war in    

the coming months.  

--THE NATION, March 11, 1991    

 

 

 The following article was written before the Persian Gulf War by

 Professor Bob Springborg, Professor Of Politics at Macquarie iversity.

 It appeared in the October/November PEACE ACTION, newsletter of

 People For Nuclear Disarmament, published in New South Wales.   

 

                  BEFORE THE WAR

 

    It is time to separate fact from fiction in the Gulf    

crisis.  Saddam Hussein, George Bush, Margaret    

Thatcher, and even more marginal participants like    

Prime Minister Bob Hawke, have each used their own    

'spin artists' to provide self-serving    

interpretations of the events.  The media has added    

velocity to the spin, further obfuscating the truth    

and rendering the conflict yet more explosive.   

    In the first days of the crisis we were warned    

repeatedly by Washington that Iraq was on the brink    

of invading Saudi Arabia, a warning that was echoed    

by Canberra.  Evidence proffered in support of his    

contention included reference to a conversation    

Saddam Hussein was alleged to have had with a    

visiting US Congressman.  Saddam was reported to have    

told him that his army was going to invade Saudi    

Arabia.  Why he should have announced his intention    

to a US Congressman was never made clear.  Iraq's    

immediate denial of such a statement was given a    

fraction of the media attention the initial report    

received.  The other piece of evidence disseminated    

from Washington was from 'intelligence sources,' by    

which administration presumably meant satellite    

photographs.  Such evidence was refuted by on-the-   

ground observations, including those broadcast on our    

own television screens, which revealed Iraqis as    

using heavy earth-moving equipment to prepare    

defensive fortifications on the Kuwait-Saudi border    

once the conquest of Kuwait was completed.   

    Virtually all unbiased and informed military    

observers have scoffed at the idea that Iraq was    

about to invade Saudi Arabia.  That Iraq could have    

subdued that country, which is about the size of    

Western Australia, is a fanciful notion.  The Saudi    

Air Force, backed up by the 80 attack aircraft on the    

US carrier men steaming just outside the Straits of    

Hormuz, would have wreaked havoc with the Iraqi    

armour and infantry spread out over several hundred    

kilometers between the Kuwait border and the Saudi    

oil fields.   

It is understandable that the world gave little    

credence to Iraqi protestations that it had no claims    

on Saudi Arabia or any intention to invade it, simply    

because the Iraqis have lied before.  But it is    

equally incomprehensible, in the face of first-hand    

observations and expert military analysis, that the    

myth of an impending invasion was retained.  The only    

plausible explanation is that it was part of a    

campaign of disinformation orchestrated by the US to    

justify its intervention.   

    The second myth that has been created is that    

the Iraqi military is truly a formidable force.  Time    

and time again the media has identified it as the    

fourth or fifth largest military force in the  world,    

with a one-million-man army.  This is misleading m    

the extreme.  The Iraqi army consists of 240,000    

soldiers whose training is in some way comparable to    

that of First World armies.  An additional 400,000    

troops are in uniform, but have had little training     

and are considered unreliable.  The remainder of the    

one-million-man army consists of mobilized reservists    

with no significant battlefield skills.   

    Iraqi armour has also been identified as being    

overwhelming, the figure most commonly cited being    

5,500 tanks.  Of that number, however, only the T-   

72s, of which there are 500, are modern pieces of    

equipment.  About 4,000 Iraqi tanks are venerable    

Soviet or Chinese supplied T-54s or T-55s, which were    

already dated in the 1960s.  The hulk of the    

remainder are T-62s, a more modern tank but one the    

Israelis devastated during the 1982 invasion of    

Lebanon.   

    The capability of the Iraqi air force, claimed    

to have more than 500 front-line aircraft, has also    

been inflated to virtual super-power status.  In fact    

Iraq has only 18 [somewhat modern] Mig-29s and 64    

Mirage F-1Es....The balance of the air force consists    

of dated Soviet and Chinese equipment which is no    

match for any of the planes deployed against Iraq.   

The vaunted Iraqi missile capability is also a hollow    

threat.  The payload of its Scud-Bs and the modified    

Scud-Bs is 500 kilograms.  By comparison, a single US    

F-16 aircraft can deliver the ordinance of 20 Iraqi    

missiles.  At present over 200 F-16s are arrayed    

against Iraq by the air forces of the US and Saudi    

Arabia, to say nothing of the B-52s, F117As, and a    

host of other ground attack aircraft and    

interceptors.   

    The Iraqi military has no access to satellite    

reconnaissance.  The US has in orbit over the    

potential battlefield several HD-11 satellites.     

Their accuracy is astonishing.  Were three oranges    

lined up on a runway and one removed, its removal    

could be detected.   

    The notion that the Iraqi army is 'hardened' and    

'battle tested' is grossly misleading.  During the    

eight-year war with Iran it conducted exactly two    

mobile offensives requiring reasonable command and    

control capabilities.  The first was at the time of    

the original invasion in September 1980, and the last    

was the battle to regain Fao Peninsula at the end of    

the war.  Both were essentially walkovers.   

    In sum, if there is a war, Iraq will he    

decisively defeated.  That some western leaders and    

elements of the media have vastly overestimated the    

capability of the Iraqi military raises questions    

about their motives.  It smacks of justification for    

a military strike against what is in reality a    

typical Third World country with a relatively low per    

capita income ($1600), high dependency on the West,    

and a military that is simply no match for a modern,    

well-equipped fighting force.   

 

 

S.F. Examiner, April 25, 1991   

   

Defending his decision to go to war, President Bush    

invoked the just war theory of St. Augustine.  But    

one of the requirements for a the just war is    

proportionality.  One cannot kill the family of a    

thief to retrieve a stolen wallet.  One cannot kill a    

thousand innocent people to liberate a hundred from a    

despot.   

    In Kuwait today, our beloved emir is polishing    

his chandeliers, as the uniformed heroes of the   

Kuwaiti resistance wait outside Catholic churches to    

grab Filipino girls after mass to rape them.  A "rape    

epidemic is under way," says the Washington Times.   

    The president was rightly sickened by reports of    

what Iraqi troops did to Kuwaitis.  But why, when we    

put the emir back in power, are we not protesting    

what his bully boys are doing to Asians and    

Palestinians?  Would that perhaps risk all those    

lucrative contracts the United States expects to get    

from Kuwait?    

    Excuse me, but these Kuwaiti plutocrats owe us.     

Why doesn't Bush send his ambassador to the palace,    

and tell the emir to get his heroes under control or    

get the hell out?   

    Once again, after a "good war," a terrible    

aftermath.  This war, the president said, will bring    

"stability and security" to the Gulf; it will usher    

in a brave New World Order that our critics simply    

lack the vision to see.   

    WELL, WHERE is the security and stability?  Where is    

the order?  Kuwait is a blazing pyre of ruined oil    

wells, its worst elements raping at will in Kuwait    

City.  Iraq, a modern nation of 18 million, is a    

wasteland of civil war, terror, famine, disease and    

death.  Jordan is now a slum.  The Palestinians have    

lost everything, even hope.  Messrs. Shamir and Sharon    

are turning the West Bank into a trailer park for the    

crazies of Gush Emunim.  And thousands of U.S. troops    

are moving into Kurdish regions of Northern Iraq,    

temporarily, you under-stand, until "something can    

be. worked out."  And we are only six weeks into the    

postwar.   

 

 

I will never believe the Christian redeemer until    

Christians show me that they themselves have been    

redeemed.   

                       --Fredrich Nietszche   

 

The only people on earth who do not see Christ and    

his teachings as nonviolent are Christians.   

                       --Gandhi   

 

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every    

rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft    

from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are    

cold and are not clothed  This world in arms is not    

spending money alone.  It is spending the sweat of    

its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes    

of its children.  This is not a way of life at all.     

It is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.   

                             --Dwight D. Eisenhower   

 

What the world expects of Christians is that    

Christians should speak out, loud and clear; that    

they should voice their condemnation in such a way    

that never a doubt, never the slightest doubt, could    

arise in the heart of the simplest person; that they    

should get away from abstraction and confront the    

blood-stained face history has taken on today.   

                                  --Albert Camus   

 

"We SHELL not EXXONerate Saddam Hussein for his    

actions.  We will MOBILize to meet this threat to    

vital interests in the Persian GULF until an AMOCOble    

solution is reached.  Our best strategy is to    

BPrepared.  Failing that, we ARCOming to kick his    

ass."   

--George Bush