Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage

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The health and environmental costs of war on Iraq

War!!!...The mere sound of this word sends shivers down our spines. Its easy to wage a war and fulfil ones greed or Aspirations. But have we ever pondered as to where all this leads to…well nothing except misery and pain. Some of the statistics which I have tried to sum up in this column could widen your eves with horror and astonishment.

Up to four million people could die in a war on Iraq involving nuclear weapons. A more contained conflict will cause half a million deaths and have a devastating impact on the lives, health and environment of the combatants, Iraqi civilians, and people in neighbouring countries and beyond. It will also damage the global economy and thus indirectly harm the health of millions more people across the world.

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The estimates of the total possible deaths on all sides during the conflict and the following three months range from 48,000 to over 260,000. Civil war within Iraq could add another 20,000 deaths. Additional later deaths from post-war adverse health effects could reach 200,000. If nuclear weapons were used the death toll could reach 3,900,000. In all scenarios, the majority of casualties will be civilians.The aftermath of a ‘conventional’ war could include civil war, famine and epidemics, millions of refugees and displaced people, catastrophic effects on children’s health and development, economic collapse including failure of agriculture and manufacturing, and a requirement for long-term peacekeeping.

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Global economic crisis may be triggered through trade reduction and soaring oil prices, with particularly devastating consequences for developing countries especially India which depends solely upon the Gulf for its Oil reserves.The financial burden will be enormous on all sides, with arms spending, occupation costs, relief and reconstruction possibly exceeding $150-200bn. The US shall be spending nothing less than $100bn on the war and $5bn - 20bn annually on the occupation. As the report points out, $100bn would fund about four years of expenditure to address the health needs of the world’s poorest people.

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Conflict will be more destructive than 1990-1991 Gulf War. The vowed US aim of regime change means much more intense fighting and destruction than the 1990-91 Gulf War, and will involve more deadly weapons developed in the interim. Furthermore, the mental and physical health of ordinary Iraqis is far worse than it was in 1991.

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The US goal of leadership change is counterbalanced by Saddam Hussein’s goal of survival for which he could go on to do things beyond imagination. He could fire oil wells and using radiological or chemical missiles pollute the sites, order paramilitary attacks on Kuwaiti and Saudi oil fields, pipelines and facilities, order paramilitary attacks on civilian centres in other Gulf states order paramilitary attacks on targets in the US, UK and other Coalition countries, consider selective use of chemical and biological weapons (CBW).

WHY!!!

This is a common question in everyone’s mind today even as the Coalition Forces powered mainly by the USA and UK strike and pound the city of Baghdad, a mere showcase of their “Super Power” status. Why are tonnes of bombs and missiles being fired upon buildings and houses killing innocent civilians? Why is the UN a mute spectator to this dirty show just as a hundred of its basic rules are being broken by the bully’s? Why are we being deprived of the basic human rights of life? Why?