Swanson will be speaking on this topic in Washington, D.C., on Lundi, mars 18th.
The following is a brief summary of a much longer, and fully documented, report available at http://warisacrime.org/iraq and being made available in an attractive 88-page PDF at http://www.coldtype.net
Au cours des années 10 depuis le lancement de l'opération Iraqi Liberation (pour utiliser le nom d'origine avec l'acronyme approprié, OIL) et au cours des années 22 depuis l'opération Desert Storm, rien n'indique qu'un nombre significatif de personnes aux États-Unis ait une idée réaliste de ce que notre gouvernement a fait à la population irakienne ou de la façon dont ces actions se comparent à d'autres horreurs de l'histoire du monde. Une majorité d’Américains estiment que la guerre depuis 2003 a fait mal aux États-Unis, mais a profité à l’Iraq. Une pluralité d'Américains croient, non seulement que les Iraquiens devraient être reconnaissants, mais que les Iraquiens le sont aussi.
A number of U.S. academics have advanced the dubious claim that war making is declining around the world. Misinterpreting what has happened in Iraq is central to their argument. As documented in the Rapport complet, by the most scientifically respected measures available, Iraq lost 1.4 million lives as a result of OIL, saw 4.2 million additional people injured, and 4.5 million people become refugees. The 1.4 million dead was 5% of the population. That compares to 2.5% lost in the U.S. Civil War, or 3 to 4% in Japan in World War II, 1% in France and Italy in World War II, less than 1% in the U.K. and 0.3% in the United States in World War II. The 1.4 million dead is higher as an absolute number as well as a percentage of population than these other horrific losses. U.S. deaths in Iraq since 2003 have been 0.3% of the dead, even if they've taken up the vast majority of the news coverage, preventing U.S. news consumers from understanding the extent of Iraqi suffering.
Dans un parallèle très américain, le gouvernement des États-Unis n’a voulu donner une valeur à la vie d’un Iraquien qu’à 0.3% de la valeur financière qu’il attribue à la vie d’un citoyen américain.
The 2003 invasion included 29,200 air strikes, followed by another 3,900 over the next eight years. The U.S. military targeted civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances. It also made use of what some might call "weapons of mass destruction," using cluster bombs, white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new kind of napalm in densely settled urban areas.
Les anomalies congénitales, les taux de cancer et la mortalité infantile sont à son comble. L'approvisionnement en eau, les usines de traitement des eaux usées, les hôpitaux, les ponts et les sources d'électricité ont été dévastés et non réparés. Les soins de santé, la nutrition et l'éducation ne ressemblent en rien à ce qu'ils étaient avant la guerre. Et nous devons nous rappeler que les soins de santé et la nutrition se sont déjà détériorés au cours des années de guerre économique menée au travers des sanctions économiques les plus complètes jamais imposées de l'histoire moderne.
Money spent by the United States to "reconstruct" Iraq was always less than 10% of what was being spent adding to the damage, and most of it was never actually put to any useful purpose. At least a third was spent on "security," while much of the rest was spent on corruption in the U.S. military and its contractors.
The educated who might have best helped rebuild Iraq fled the country. Iraq had the best universities in Western Asia in the early 1990s, and now leads in illiteracy, with the population of teachers in Baghdad reduced by 80%.
For years, the occupying forces broke the society of Iraq down, encouraging ethnic and sectarian division and violence, resulting in a segregated country and the repression of rights that Iraqis used to enjoy even under Saddam Hussein's brutal police state.
While the dramatic escalation of violence that for several years was predicted would accompany any U.S. withdrawal did not materialize, Iraq is not at peace. The war destabilized Iraq internally, created regional tensions, and — of course — generated widespread resentment for the United States. That was the opposite result of the stated one of making the United States safer.
If the United States had taken five trillion dollars, and — instead of spending it destroying Iraq — had chosen to do good with it, at home or abroad, just imagine the possibilities. The United Nations thinks $30 billion a year would end world hunger. For $5 trillion, why not end world hunger for 167 years? The lives not saved are even more than the lives taken away by war spending.
A sanitized version of the war and how it started is now in many of our school text books. It is not too late for us to correct the record, or to make reparations. We can better work for an actual reduction in war making and the prevention of new wars, if we accurately understand what past wars have involved.
Les livres de David Swanson incluent "La guerre est un mensonge. " Il blogue sur http://davidswanson.org ainsi que http://warisacrime.org et travaille pour http://rootsaction.org. Il accueille Talk Nation Radio. Suivez-le sur Twitter: @davidcnswanson ainsi que FaceBook.
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