Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Troops to Iraq - Apathy and complacency in today's neo-liberal Australia

By Will Hardiker - posted Thursday, 17 March 2005


Illegal weapons of mass destruction have been discovered in Iraq in vast quantities …

Can we then conclude that America’s case to the UN and the world is legitimate and justifiable after all? Was a pre-emptive attack, invasion, and occupation of a sovereign country on the alleged possession of WMD (which posed a serious threat to world peace) necessary and imperative?

The answer to such questions remains a definitive “No”. All such weapons found bear the distinctive markings of the US and coalition military. They have been used with knowledge of their consequences for the past 12 years, since the first Gulf War to rein Saddam in from Kuwait.

Advertisement

Their use is entirely unnecessary against an opponent like the Iraqi armed forces and resistance factions, but is also unnecessary against Iraqi civilians (including children). Inadvertently these weapons have been used against US and coalition forces. No-one, it seems, has been spared the potential horror that these weapons wreak.

Meanwhile, back in Australia, Prime Minister John Howard, has broken his Government’s election promise and ordered a further 450 Australian troops to Iraq. As usual, not so much as a murmur of objection or public dissent has been heard, so entrenched is the apathy and complacency that characterises present-day neo-liberal Australia.

The Dutch contingent - whom Australian troops are being deployed to replace after their withdrawal - reportedly lost two soldiers and suffered a number of wounded. From this we can conclude the Australian troops can expect to face some danger, particularly in view of the fact that their Commander-in-Chief and Bush’s Deputy, John Howard, was, and remains, such an enthusiastic supporter of the occupation of Iraq.

They may well be targeted, however they can expect - as they have so far - to face minimal risk while being holed up in the US barracks in southern Iraq.

All of this may be palatable to the average Australian. After all, 450 personnel does not sound like an excessive contribution to the illusion of a “democratic” (read “Americanised”) Iraq. But the Prime Minister made no mention in his announcement of the very real danger from depleted uranium (DU), which contaminates much of the country, and is quite likely the greatest risk faced by anyone in Iraq.

The US is bound by customary law and international laws of war, The Hague Conventions of 1889 and 1907, the Geneva Convention and the Nuremburg Convention adopted by the UN in December 1945. The US is blatantly violating all such treaties and conventions with the widespread, premeditated use of DU.

Advertisement

Article 23 of the Geneva Convention is transparent: “It is forbidden to empty poison or poisoned weapons to kill individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army, to employ arms, projectiles or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering.”

Since the end of “Desert Storm” when the Pentagon unloaded 350 tonnes of depleted uranium, US officials have been aware of the health hazards. When President Bush authorised the use of depleted uranium during the “Shock and Awe” attack on Iraq in March 1983, the Bush administration not only committed a war crime against the Iraqi people, it also displayed its total disregard for the safety and wellbeing of American troops.

Prominent human rights lawyer, Karen Parker, reminds us there are four rules derived from humanitarian laws and conventions regarding weapons. They are:

  • weapons may only be used against legal enemy military targets and must not have an adverse effect elsewhere (the “territory” rule);
  • weapons can only be used for the duration of an armed conflict and must not be used or continue to act afterwards (the “temporal” rule);
  • weapons must not be unduly inhumane (the “humaneness” rule). The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 speak of “unnecessary suffering” and “superfluous injury” in this regard; and
  • weapons may not have an unduly negative effect on the natural environment (the “environmental” rule)

According to US Army Health physicist Dr Doug Rokke, who led the first cleanup of DU after the Gulf War, “Depleted uranium is a crime against God and humanity”. Of Rokke's crew of 100 employees, 30 died as a result of their cleanup efforts. In the present conflict, The Washington Post reported on September 2, 2003, that “more than 6,000 personnel have been medically evacuated from Iraq since the launch of the war”. The source of this information was cited as coming from US military Central Command. For every soldier killed at least another 15 have fallen so ill that they have required urgent evacuation home.

Uranium has been spread as a fine dust by detonating thousands of tones of DU in the recent US-led campaigns against these countries. The DU from these WMD are all over Iraq. They have been used extensively by the US and coalition forces in vast quantities. Iraqi children continue to find them every day.

They have ruined the lives of an estimated 300,000 in the last decade - and no doubt the figure will increase. Two hundred tonnes of radio-active material were fired by invading US forces: into buildings, homes, streets and parklands all over Baghdad.

DU is favoured for its ability to penetrate armored objects such as tanks which are 1.7 times denser than lead. After a DU-coated shell finds its target, it goes straight through before exploding into a burning vapour which turns to dust. DU has a half-life of 4.7 billion years. Thousands of Iraqis will suffer the horrific symptoms such as cancer and birth defects for tens of thousands of years to come.

Dr Ahmad Hardan, Special Scientific advisor to the World Health Organization, the UN and the Iraqi Ministry of Health are in no doubt as to the effects of DU. He expects to see significant rises in congenital cataracts, anopthalmia, corneal opacities and coloboma of the iris. And that is just the effects on people’s eyes. Iraq is staring down the barrel of an inerema of over 300 per cent in all types of cancer over the coming decade.

For the growing number of sick and disabled US troops, DU has been blamed for many of the symptoms commonly called “Gulf War Syndrome”. The release of a recent study conducted by American Free Press reveals that almost half the soldiers returned in one unit have malignant growths. This is critical undisputed evidence. Half a million veterans from the first 14-year-old Gulf War are sick and disabled.

Those who have seen the effects of DU weapons in Iraq’s inadequate hospitals hope the US will never use these weapons again, though of course it is too late.

Dr Hardan arranged for a delegation from Hiroshima Hospital to come and share their expertise in the radiological-related diseases we are dealing with. The delegation told me, “The Americans had objected and we have decided not to come”.

Similarly a renowned German Cancer Specialist agreed to come only to be informed he would not be granted permission to enter Iraq. In view of this reality, perhaps the Australian Prime Minister should inform the Australian people of the real risks to Australian troops within Iraq. A bullet in the head may just be the lesser of two evils.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

4 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

William Hardiker is a journalist and activist living in Australia.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Will Hardiker
Article Tools
Comment 4 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy