Horrors of the recent war in Iraq and the ensuing violence have engendered a historical amnesia leading many commentators to compare the past favourably with the present. The prevailing logic goes something like this: Bush is the epitome of evil, and a coterie of extremist neocons have hijacked  foreign policy to turn America into a juggernaut ready to trample on anyone who might stand in its way. This presumably is a radical departure from US policies of yore, however, this perception couldn’t be farther from the truth. The blatant aggression by the US/UK forces and the disregard for International legal norms is no doubt shocking, but it still pales in comparison to the colossal horrors wrought upon a society, especially in a decade which made “humanitarian concern” a staple of foreign policy discourse.

 

To put into context much that has happened in the first few years of the new millennium, it is imperative to look back and reassess the genocidal impact of the sanctions regime imposed on Iraq.  Iraq Under Siege: the deadly impact of sanctions and war, a fine collection of essays and articles, edited by Anthony Arnove, is indeed the best account of the consequences of this policy and its attendant horrors and depredations. With analysis ranging from the underlying policy behind the sanctions, to the myths frequently invoked to justify the continued strangulation of a country, the book benefits from the insight of such distinguished names as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, John Pilger, Robert Fisk, Dennis Halliday and Phyllis Bennis.

 

Lending further potence to this indictment is the account of ordinary Iraqis as they suffer the ravages. From Mustafa Al-Mukhtar, the cultured intellectual as he succumbs to the constant existential strain – a corollary of the impoverishment of civil society – to the resigned innocence of fourteen-year-old Shaima, as her family, which has sold everything for her treatment, cries on the bed side as they witness life ebbing away from her fragile body. A whole generation is growing up malnourished, stunted, or deformed following the destruction of the civilian infrastructure – a travesty only compounded by the indiscriminate nature of the sanctions, which has restrictions even on life-saving drugs and ambulances.  

 

Given the enormity of this crime against humanity, one is tempted to ask how is it that the world managed to stay indifferent while a whole nation was subjected to the most inhuman form of collective punishment. Ali Abunimah and Rania Masri provide the answer to this enigma. The systematic disinformation campaign that accompanied the sanctions regime routinely ignored their impact on the Iraqi society while constantly playing on the fear of the weapons of mass destruction. Saddam came to personify the whole Iraqi society making the process of collective demonization that much easier hence precluding any chance of the development of public empathy in the unlikely event that the effects of the sanctions actually received media coverage. A familiar gang of pundits and “experts” from right-wing “think-tanks” hijacked the debate, as more and more journalists reproduced their viewpoints uncritically to cast doubts on issues where none existed.

 

An issue that mainstream media is still too docile to address is the use of Depleted Uranium. BBC studios have DU listed as one of the official taboo items while various quasi-scientific studies produced by the Pentagon still try to cast doubt on its radioactive nature. Robert Fisk and Huda Ammash dispense with the military establishment’s specious arguments while cramming mountains of evidence to expose their cynicism for putting their own personnel at risk – not to mention the targeted population – by denying the toxic nature of this substance. The destruction of Iraq’s sewage treatment and water purification facilities also amounts to biological warfare as it has led to a sharp increase in various forms of diseases, birth defects and malnutrition.

 

Given the subject matter, this book is hardly leisure reading; however, it is not entirely empty of uplifting moments. Besides the account of the acts of courage by activists defying a rogue state authority to challenge an inhuman policy, it is really John Pilger’s interview with the chair of the sanctions committee that provides the book’s finest moment. While few journalists in the West actually choose to benefit from the right to freedom of expression they enjoy, Pilger is certainly an exception. He is relentless in the pursuit of truth, and he never shies away from asking the tough question. Pilger’s tenacity and the conviction of Voices In the Wilderness provide hope as to the trajectory the world could possibly move in.

 

This book is just as relevant today as it was when first published. Madeleine Albright’s words should always serve as an example of the diabolic proportions power assumes when left unchecked. Sheer cynicism could lead the self proclaimed torch bearers of civilization to impose a policy that has killed people more than all slain throughout history by WMDs while claiming to prevent the proliferation of WMDs. The only difference between the slow genocide of the sanctions regime and the blatant murder of an overt war is that the former drew less attention while taking a heavier toll, while the latter – although visibly destructive – is not nearly as murderous, but is certainly harder to ignore. This should not lead anyone to believe, however, that this is somehow a radical departure from former US policy. As a matter of fact, the so-called “Operation Iraqi Freedom” was merely the logical conclusion of a decade of war by other means. While the struggle for an end to the occupation of Iraq grows stronger, one can only hope that some day the enormity of this genocide will be acknowledged.