The Chilcot Report: A Roundup
What Is the Chilcot Report?
The long-awaited Chilcot Report into Britain’s participation in the Iraq war is set to be released on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know about it ( Read more... )
The long-awaited Chilcot Report into Britain’s participation in the Iraq war is set to be released on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know about it ( Read more... )
I think it's important to remember just how much harm we (i.e. the west) have done to Iraq. It's staggering that Blair and Bush are still saying that this was a good thing for the country and the region. Also it's rather incredible (but not surprising) that they are saying this in a world which now has to deal with ISIS.
OTOH, where I disagree with the conclusions is when the report states, "The strategy of containment could have been adopted and continued for some time".
I think it's important to note that this involved economic sanctions placed on Iraq, and that these had a the devastating impact on Iraqi civilians. "After the Gulf War, the United Nations imposed strict economic sanctions on Iraq that critics charge have led to the deaths of more than a million people -- the majority of them children".(1)
Some references on this:
(1) The debate over UN santions: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/iraq/sanctions.html
(2) Impact of sanctions on the population of Iraq. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2000; vol.6 (no.4):pp.791-795. (Available here: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/118930/1/emhj_2000_6_4_791_795.pdf)
(3) The effect of sanctions on children of Iraq. Arch Dis Child. 2003 Jan; 88(1): 92. (Available here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1719280/pdf/v088p00092.pdf)
(Edited for clarity)
Reply
Leave a comment