Al-Jazeera, October 14:
"A United Nations human rights investigator has accused the US and British forces in Iraq of breaching international law by depriving civilians of food and water in besieged cities.
"But the US military denied the charge and said that while supplies were sometimes disrupted by combat, food was never deliberately withheld.
"Jean Ziegler, a former Swiss sociology professor who is UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said on Friday that the Geneva Conventions banned military forces from using 'starvation of civilians as a method of warfare'.
"But he said that in Falluja, Tal Afar and Samarra, Iraqi and US-led forces had cut off or restricted food and water to encourage residents to flee before assaults on entrenched Sunni fighters over the past year.
"'A drama is taking place in total silence in Iraq, where the coalition's occupying forces are using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population,' Ziegler told a news briefing in Geneva."
There is no way to independently verify these claims, though US denials should be ignored. The lack of truly independent news from Iraq - and the UN's disturbing acquiescence with occupation authorities - gives these accusations the air of authenticity.
In related news:
"A purported al-Qaida web posting has charged the US with fabricating a letter from the group's overall second-in-command allegedly to its leader in Iraq asking for money and laying out the group's plans for the Middle East.
'We in al-Qaida declare that there is no truth to these claims, and they are baseless, except in the imagination of the politicians of the Black (White) House,' according to the statement on a website known as a clearing house for al-Qaida material.
"The statement was signed by Abu Maysara, who claims to be spokesman for al-Qaida in Iraq. It could not be authenticated."
Can we trust this? Impossible to know. The point remains, however: the American, British and Australian governments are spinning themselves to death defending the Iraqi quagmire.
"A United Nations human rights investigator has accused the US and British forces in Iraq of breaching international law by depriving civilians of food and water in besieged cities.
"But the US military denied the charge and said that while supplies were sometimes disrupted by combat, food was never deliberately withheld.
"Jean Ziegler, a former Swiss sociology professor who is UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said on Friday that the Geneva Conventions banned military forces from using 'starvation of civilians as a method of warfare'.
"But he said that in Falluja, Tal Afar and Samarra, Iraqi and US-led forces had cut off or restricted food and water to encourage residents to flee before assaults on entrenched Sunni fighters over the past year.
"'A drama is taking place in total silence in Iraq, where the coalition's occupying forces are using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population,' Ziegler told a news briefing in Geneva."
There is no way to independently verify these claims, though US denials should be ignored. The lack of truly independent news from Iraq - and the UN's disturbing acquiescence with occupation authorities - gives these accusations the air of authenticity.
In related news:
"A purported al-Qaida web posting has charged the US with fabricating a letter from the group's overall second-in-command allegedly to its leader in Iraq asking for money and laying out the group's plans for the Middle East.
'We in al-Qaida declare that there is no truth to these claims, and they are baseless, except in the imagination of the politicians of the Black (White) House,' according to the statement on a website known as a clearing house for al-Qaida material.
"The statement was signed by Abu Maysara, who claims to be spokesman for al-Qaida in Iraq. It could not be authenticated."
Can we trust this? Impossible to know. The point remains, however: the American, British and Australian governments are spinning themselves to death defending the Iraqi quagmire.
13 Comments:
"There is no way to independently verify these claims, though US denials should be ignored."
Let me repeat myself:
"There is no way to independently verify these claims, though US denials should be ignored."
You can't prove you are telling the truth, yet you demand we believe you anyway.
LMAO
Nothing the US says about this war can be believed, and likewise the UK and Australia.
I simply don't know if these claims are true, but US denials should be ignored for the simple fact that they've lied before and nobody can independently check it out. The UN is maybe one body that can. Maybe.
"Nothing the US says can be believed."
LMAO. What a warning label.
At the time of the 2nd battle of Falluga there were many reports of food and medical convoys being turned away. This as far as argument goes is a moot point. All the slaughter in Iraq is based on a pack of lies.
Ian, you have no proof regarding the deaths of 500,000 children. The only fact you can actually state is that they died being ignored by their great leader, Saddam Hitler, while he built palaces and bought weapons with the money earmark for those children's survival.
The death of everyone of those 500,000 was cause by the actions of Saddam. He is directly responsible and your efforts to let him off the meat hook is deplorable.
Repeat after me: Western govts have no responsiblity for the world's problems. 'Evil' leaders - read Western supported - are the source of all evil and should be removed.
But then, how would Western governments operate in the world?
Re Iraq and sanctions, the figures are relatively undisputed and Western culpability, well, again, 'we're' clean, they're evil...
No one is questioning the figures. But the money was there. Saddam spent it on Palaces, Bullets, and PR men like you to tell the world that the western democracies were killing his 500,000 children.
And you fell for it. Shame.
Poor Adamo - forced into inaction because every single course of action required to overthrow a murderous dictator will result in somebody dying who shouldn't, but at least no blood is on addamos hands.
Who cares about the dead kurds and shi'ites and others. As long as no blood can be found on addamo's useless, worthless, meaningless hands.
Did the US intend for 500,000 Iraqi children to die? Did the US think that Saddam would allow 500,000 Iraqi children to die for his glory? Did the US think that saddam would cause 500,000 children to die so he could thumb his nose?
Addamo, you are a moron.
Addamo, do you think the US supplied Saddam so that he could make war on his own people and invade Kuwait?
You are so transparent, shallow, and false.
Ian, you are stating that the UN deliberately violated the Geneva Convention at the behest of the US while continuing to corrupt the oil for food project for theirs and Saddam's enrichment, and the US was powerless to stop it.
So have been so hoodwinked it is laughable. Except that Saddam managed to kill 500,000 children and shift the blame to the US.
The USA didn't arm Iraq much. The French and Russians supplied a great deal more arms. Saddam was never a close American ally, and he didn't spend much time as an ally. There is a left-wing myth that he was a long term American bosom buddy. This is patently false.
The Chinese were major suppliers, too.
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/bureau/000113.html
Biased link, but graph taken from reliable stats.
For a period of time, sure. Saddam used American support to his advantage, too.
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