-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0201/13/world/world5.html
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Now Iraqi blood is on our hands
By Brian Toohey
At last, HMAS Kanimbla has been given a real job after hanging around
the Indian Ocean with nothing to do in the war on terrorism.
The ship has been shifted to the northern Arabian Gulf to help police
sanctions, which have been blamed for the deaths of more than 500,000
Iraqi children.
The new job is far more significant than anything Australia has done
in the war on terrorism. Instead of the single frigate which
Australia previously contributed to the blockade on Iraq, there will
now be two frigates on station, plus the Kanimbla. More importantly,
an Australian naval officer, Captain Allan Du Toit, will take command
of all US, British, Canadian and Australian ships enforcing the
sanctions, which have been in place since the 1991 Gulf War.
The sanctions face increasing international criticism for failing to
hurt Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but causing terrible misery for
the population he is oppressing. Yet the decision for Australia to
take a crucial role in the blockade has barely caused a ripple.
Last week's announcement was not made by Foreign Affairs Minister
Alexander Downer, nor by Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill.
Instead, the brief announcement was left to an Army officer during a
media briefing on the war on terrorism. Opposition foreign affairs
spokesman Kevin Rudd made no comment, despite Labor's support during
last November's election for narrower sanctions to relieve the
suffering of the Iraqi people.
Although the sanctions pre-date the September 11 terrorist atrocities
by more than a decade, the briefing presented Australia's
controversial new role as reflecting the respect gained by its naval
units during the war on terrorism. Australian ships have played
almost no role in the war on terrorism.
When Prime Minister John Howard announced the dispatch of the
Kanimbla on October 17, he said it would act as the command centre
for Australia's contribution to the war. The Australian commander,
Brigadier Ken Gillespie, never got a chance to stride the deck of the
Kanimbla. He is now in Kuwait, after spending most of his time in a
trailer parked outside the US command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
The war on terrorism has succeeded in removing the Taliban regime
which had harboured members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network in
Afghanistan. An estimated 3,000 Afghan civilians have been killed in
the war so far.
The US has not achieved its primary aim of capturing Al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden "dead or alive". For President George Bush, bin Laden
remains "unfinished business".
The same phrase is widely used to criticise the failure to topple
Saddam Hussein at the end of the Gulf War. The then president, George
Bush snr, rejects the criticism because the goal of the war - to
drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait - was achieved.
Nevertheless, US officials clearly hoped the continuing tough trade
sanctions applied to Iraq after the war would bring Saddam down.
Far from disappearing, Saddam has consolidated his hold on power
while the Iraqi population is too weakened by the lack of food and
medicine to revolt.
The impact on children and infants has been particularly severe.
According to the UN relief agencies, malnutrition is killing up to
7,000 children a month under the age of five. Supporters of the
sanctions say this is really Saddam's fault for not properly
distributing food and medicine which the sanctions allow him to
obtain under a barter arrangement for Iraqi oil.
Even if Saddam were not a heartless despot, critics say the
arrangements are an administrative nightmare. They have also fostered
a black market, with Saddam as the main profiteer. In this view,
attributing blame does nothing to alter the fact that maintaining the
current sanctions will guarantee the deaths of tens of thousands of
more children each year.
Former Australian diplomat Richard Butler became one of Saddam's
harshest opponents during his term as head of the UN weapons
inspection team for Iraq. But Butler has since described the
sanctions as a failure. He said: "They are deeply harming 22 million
people, without changing the behaviour of regime."
After the head of the UN humanitarian relief program for Iraq, Denis
Halliday, resigned in 1998, he said: "The policy of economic
sanctions is totally bankrupt. We are in the process of destroying an
entire society. It is as simple and terrifying as that."
His successor, Hans von Sponeck, also resigned in disgust, asking how
long the civilian population should "be exposed to such punishment
for something they have never done". Other senior officials in
organisations such as the World Food Program have also resigned in
dismay.
In these circumstances, a minister should have explained why an
Australian naval officer has taken command of the blockade enforcing
such ill-directed sanctions which have nothing to do with the war on
terrorism.
Saddam's sole virtue is that bin Laden despises him for not being a
religious fanatic. But this is hardly enough to justify the
Government's eagerness to play a bigger role in a policy which only
bolsters Saddam's power and brings more suffering to the Iraqi
people.
The Sun-Herald
Search the Fairfax archives for related stories (*Fee for full
article)
[go to top]
In this section
Al Qaeda bomb threat revealed
Terorist suspects jailed in Cuba hell hole
Focus on hunger in remote northern Afghan village
New cockpit doors needed
Now Iraqi blood is on our hands
Tehran delivered US-built missiles to terrorists
Powell defends Israeli military action in Gaza
35,000 jobs to go in Ford shakeup
Dad faces jail over hockey coach death
Britain to share Gibraltar with Spain
Charles's $12m spree hits Queen's Jubilee
Theft trials for Diana's butlers
Sexism in the city: Court awards record payout
Russia: independent TV channel ordered to close
Canada: dangerous refugees can be deported
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