I received barely any response. I can count on one hand the number of people who have even acknowledged that I sent it. Email is a tricky medium, and we've all seen that people have trouble replying even to messages with very clear requests or instructions. And I don't suppose many people welcome receiving unsolicited politically charged mass emails (even if they are personally composed by a family member or close friend, as opposed to a forward of unknown origin). So I don't know that I should interpret the deafening silence in response to this missive of informative despair as complete disinterest. But it is hard not to do so."The inferno…is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension: seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of the inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space." -Italo CalvinoThis essay by Chris Floyd documents how Iraqi civilians in Fallujah are suffering high rates of miscarriage, birth defects ("These infants include many with heart defects, cleft lip or palate, Down's syndrome, and limb defects."), and cancer, because of the illegal use of chemical and radioactive weapons by US forces in the siege of that city in 2004. The public health crisis was certainly not helped by the illegal targeting by US forces of medical clinics and personnel for destruction or capture, or by the illegal intentional disruption of water and electricity services. These massive war crimes are never reported by the US corporate media, but they outrage the rest of the world along with the few Americans who are able to access such information through alternative sources. And they've destroyed countless lives of Iraqis.
By the standards of the Nuremberg Trials, a war of aggression is the ultimate international crime, considered to encompass the whole of all the evils it contains, like the evils mentioned above. As such, civilian and military leadership, including Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, and others should be on trial for war crimes for their roles in launching this war. But in the US, the impeachment charges brought up by Dennis Kucinich are barely even acknowledged, except as subject of ridicule, even by the purported opposition party. And so criminal prosecution is unthinkable, making mockery of any concept of law or justice.
Part of my decision to move to Canada was because I wanted to morally disassociate myself from the actions of the US Government and political class. I don't know if crossing an imaginary line really achieves that or not, but my feelings of outrage and disgust aren't likely to improve even if my conscience does. And so I'll continue to "seek out what is not inferno" and share my thoughts with my family, in the fleeting hope that it will make some kind of difference somehow.
- Adam
I bring this up because another Floyd essay is tempting me to repeat this exercise. I guess something about the combination of US military violence and child suffering and death makes me want to reach out and... and what? Try to make it stop? See that someone else gives a shit? Torture myself over my own guilt? Force people to confront things they'd rather ignore? I don't know. I wonder how many of the people who read the email gave more thought to why I sent it than to the overt content it contained. I suspect that any time spent on either could be measured with the second hand of a watch, and recorded with one digit. I suppose I should be envious.
12 comments:
I remember the message you sent out but did not reply to it. I hope that you didn't interpret my silence as disapproval of or apathy towards your stance. We've discussed many times the atrocities of US foreign policy and the failings of our political system. I know we disagree on some major points, and I feel that sometimes overshadows the fact that we agree on many others. I continue to value your input in our discussions very highly. Just for the record, I applaud your standing for your principles and deciding to disassociate yourself from the US. I hope your other friends/family feel the same.
All In The Family
Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by tribal culture in which families prefer that their offspring marry close relatives. Heart defects, cleft lip or palate, Down's syndrome, and limb defects were common long before the US arrived. Not just in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, too.
On another topic, here's a link you might like: Why Libertarians Should Vote for Obama (1).
I attribute to malice what is attributable to malice. The report indicates an increased incident of these conditions. It seems likely to be based in truth, and the more broad point still applies.
As for the link, I'm sure you know that my response will be to laugh at the idea that Democrats are any less war-like than Republicans.
And the mechanism for causing egregious harm in four short years would be?
' ... because of the illegal use of chemical and radioactive weapons by US forces in the siege of that city in 2004.'
The US chose not to use chemical weapons (CS gas) or napalm in Iraq (unlike Vietnam) though use could have saved American lives. Anti-tank rounds, if used, are of depleted uranium, but cancer (were it to appear) would take many more than four years to appear.
Exaggeration isn't useful.
The indications remain anecdotal, in the absence of either a study, or any available official records.
The Fallujah General Hospital administration was unwilling to give any statistics on deformed babies, but one doctor volunteered to speak on condition of anonymity -- for fear of reprisals if seen to be critical of the administration.
"Maternal exposure to toxins and radioactive material can lead to miscarriage and frequent abortions, still birth, and congenital malformation," the doctor told IPS. There have been many such cases, and the government "did not move to contain the damage, or present any assistance to the hospital whatsoever.
It seems unlikely that we'll get a study on this any time soon, so anecdotal evidence is all we have. I see no reason to dismiss it outright.
Cancer was linked to exposure from the "first" war in Iraq under Bush I.
You know what else would have saved American lives? Not invading.
Cancer was linked to exposure from the "first" war in Iraq under Bush I.
- adspar
In Fallujah? Surely, you jest. Iraq I, under Bush I, wasn't fought in the cities.
Certainly some amount of scientific skepticism is warranted in response to claims made by anonymous doctors, but we aren't likely to see anything more definitive for a while. It seems likely to me that use of DU and other nasty shit could result in birth defects and cancer in various ways. I'm no cancer specialist, but it seems to me that we could easily already be seeing cancer among young children who were exposed as fetuses. Whether otherwise health adults would see increased cancer rates a few years after exposure, I wouldn't venture an opinion.
it seems to me that we could easily already be seeing cancer among young children who were exposed as fetuses
- adspar
What's the mechanism for exposure? Iraqi women in the Iraqi Army during Iraq I who now live in Fallujah?
Occam's razor. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible.
In that case I'm talking about exposure in the last few years.
In that case I'm talking about exposure in the last few years.
- adspar
Is it your contention that pregnant Fallujah women (i. e., with fetuses) have engaged in long-term tourism on the 'Highway of Death' out of Kuwait?
DU was used in Fallujah, was it not?
DU was used in Fallujah, was it not?
- adspar
DU is used against armor. No armor, no DU.
The burden of proof rests on the affirmative.
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