Yesterday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) published a report on the dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Iraq.
Geneva (ICRC) ‘ In a report issued today in Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expresses alarm about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Iraq and calls for urgent action to better protect civilians against the continuing violence.
The report entitled Civilians without protection ‘ The ever-worsening crisis in Iraq deplores the daily acts of violence such as shootings, bombings, abductions, murders and military operations that directly target Iraqi civilians in clear violation of international humanitarian law and other applicable legal standards. While it argues that the current crisis directly or indirectly affects all Iraqis, the report focuses on the problems of vulnerable groups such as the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis forced to flee their homes and the families that host them.
The report documents the alarming state of Iraqi health-care facilities suffering critical shortages of staff and supplies. Many doctors, nurses and patients no longer dare to go to hospitals and clinics because they are targeted or threatened. The report also underlines that much of Iraq’s vital water, sewage and electricity infrastructure is in a critical condition owing to lack of maintenance and because security constraints have impeded repair work.
“The suffering that Iraqi men, women and children are enduring today is unbearable and unacceptable. Their lives and dignity are continuously under threat,” said the ICRC’s director of operations, Pierre Kr’henb’hl. “The ICRC calls on all those who can influence the situation on the ground to act now to ensure that the lives of ordinary people are spared and protected. This is an obligation under international humanitarian law for both States and non-State actors.”
Their report can be downloaded from here
The "Rape of Iraq" is an international crime of the highest and most serious kind. How have we allowed this to happen in our name, and in the name of "democracy" and "freedom"? Personally I think one of the core values of western civilization has become "hypocracy".
We have literally destroyed a country and its infrastructure, with horrific results. Compared to us, Saddam was a prince among men. To me, Blair is actually worse than Saddam Husein.
If I had my way Blair would be impeached and put on public trial in the palace of Westminster like Charles the first. As he found the trial of Saddam acceptable and fair, I would employ the same "standards" at Blair's trial. I would contend that he would be found guilty of warcrimes and crimes against humanity. I would not support his execution like Charles the first though, as I'm against capital punishment. I would however send him to prison for a long time. I would also confiscate any income Blair would earn from his literary endevours. It seems obscene that such a creature should profit from his crimes. I would send the money to Iraq, probably to a children's hospital in Baghdad.
I think the trial of Blair is a test for our democracy. In a truly democratic society Blair would be impeached and tried for his crimes. If we really let him get off scott-free and he earns 20,000,000 over the next five years, then surely this would add insult to injury, and show a kind of contempt for the Iraqi dead and displaced. One can't forget the signal value Blair's trial would send to other leaders considering similar "Wars for Peace" can one?
As ever the benign Red Cross reports, carefully concocted not to offend any of the belligerents sensibilities, the RC report, presenting the facts, goes onto cite the International law.
Paying little attention to the actualities, that are indicative of one in Five of Iraqis being either dead, and or made homeless refugees wandering around inside, and or outside of Iraq, in forlorn hope of finding a safe sanctuary.
The neighbouring Arab countries, refusing to accept the waves of the; miserable, disheveled, hopeless, homeless, and desperate Iraqis running away, as refugees. Leaving these unfortunate souls without any means of assistance, which is further made more complex by the lack of issuance of work permits. This 'humane' and 'brotherly' policy is explained away as helping to consolidate the current Iraqi government, by not undermining its international credibility.
However, if truth were to be known, the sock-puppet vassals, in charge of the array of post-colonial, ''dependencies'', have been instructed not to embarrass the current US administration. Although sock-puppets will cite that Bush has "near dictatorial power", as outlined in the neoconzine The Weekly Standard (owned by Murdoch, housed two floors away from the playpen of neocons; American Enterprise Institute, and with a whole circulation of some 2000 copies, which is usually passed as 10,000) further elaborating; that is inside the US, never mind outside of US, without any constraints of accountability of any sorts.
Hence, with UN out of the loop, after all UN must be seen and never heard, and only used to issue statements, and resolutions against the 'defiant' countries, which dare to wish to remain non aligned, and have ambitions other than kowtowing to the masters of the Planet (you know likes of Iran, and Venezuela).
These masters whom verily believe in their 'beyond challenge' status, further having ensured the consolidation of the media, in the hands of the chosen few, whom see the world in a 'fair and balanced way' tilted in the right direction of course. They have then hounded away, and or sacked anyone of the lickspittles whom thought they could play news-reporters, reporting anything remotely resembling the actualities.
Resultant of it all being seen, in the Anna Nichole Smith saga, and the little MP guy conjugating with some students, and or the 'rapping squirrel', not forgetting voluminous columns inches dedicated to the 'mother of the three year old' whom recants what she thought, and what she was afraid of, and what might have been, could have been, which was really terrible.
All the while avoiding any hints to the genocide of the Iraqis, did I say genocide, that is because I am; a liberal, pinko communist Lulu, Liberal, bleeding heart, hippy, fascist, islamofascit, dole scrounging bourgeois . You see genocide cannot be applied to Iraq, because there has been only more than one million dead Iraqis, only more than 2 million Iraqis fleeing to outside of that beacon of cakewalks, sweets, and democracy, while only one and one half million internally 'displaced' (semantics galore), or more accurately refugees, after the successful implementations of the Malayan style of genocidal ethnic cleansing, and concentration camps, in Fallujah, and elsewhere, which these days are only referred to as al Anbar.
Histrionics, as any soulless blood sucking vampire would agree, twenty percent of a nation disappearing is no genocide, only 100 percent can scarcely qualify as genocide, that is if the nation concerned is the right sort of a nation that we qualify and acknowledge to be, sort of white, blue eyed, fair, Swedish, Nordic sort of people..
All the while, the same blood thirsty operators, setting their sigts on the next target, preparing to have a redux of their successful Afghani, and Iraqi operations, reliant on their generals to ask their underlings; they should consider suicide attacks as a last resort, in an attempt to sound as tough as their opponents!
Coalition forces (mainly US) are viewed as an enemy by a large proportion of the Iraqi people, and as such cannot possibly be effective as any kind of peace-keeping force. We are a magnet for destructive forces.
You can't surround a town like Fallujah, refuse to let men leave, bomb it to hell and then expect the Iraqi people to like you and cooperate. We have committed far too many crimes in Iraq to ever be trusted by the population.
If we're serious about bringing democracy to Iraq, which I don't believe we are, perhaps we should hold a simple referedum, and ask the Iraqi people if the occupation should end, yes or no. Given the likely outcome of the referendum I don't belive we'll ever give them the opportunity. We are in Iraq for the long haul, or at least until the oil's gone.