U.S., British Forces Face War Crimes for Ravaging Iraq’s Public Health

Although it is still impossible to assess the consequences of the ongoing war on the Iraqi people's well-being and health, there are already several indications that these may be harsh. Moreover, evidence points to war crimes committed by the U.S. and British invading and occupying forces that have caused the death of many civilians and heavy damage to the health infrastructure. (This article is a summary of a paper that can be requested from healthandjusticeforiraq@myrealbox.com)

Contributed by Wim De Ceukelaire 
International Action for Liberation-Medical Aid for the Third World (Intal-MATW)
Posted by Bulatlat.com

As of April 26, Iraqbodycount.net estimated that between 2,029 and 2,488 civilians have died in the war on Iraq based on published reports.¹ Other estimates of civilian casualties in the media went as high as 20,000 on April 20.² The real civilian death toll will probably never be known as the Pentagon has repeatedly stressed that it does not intend to count civilian casualties.³

International Humanitarian Law, particularly the Law of Geneva consisting of the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and the two 1977 Additional Protocols, obliges the belligerents to make a distinction between persons taking part in the hostilities and the civilian population. The latter should be spared as much as possible. Therefore, indiscriminate attacks and use of indiscriminate weapons are prohibited.

On March 28, at least 55 civilians died when the market in the Shula district of Baghdad was hit by a U.S. missile.⁴ According to Geert Van Moorter, a doctor from the Medical Aid for the Third World (MATW) who was at the scene a few hours later, the market is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Baghdad and there are no military targets, not even big buildings, within several kilometers. In another incident, the town of Hilla was hit by air raids, killing at least 73 civilians. When the international media visited the place, they found that at the scene of the bombing dozens of parts of cluster bombs were peppered over a large area.⁵

The Iraqi civilians' ordeal did not stop with the aerial bombings as they also came under fire by the advancing ground troops. On March 31, for example, U.S. soldiers killed 10 civilians, including 5 children, when they opened fire on a civilian vehicle as it approached a U.S. checkpoint near Najaf.⁶ Several journalists have reported that U.S. soldiers were ordered to fire at any vehicle - military and civilian alike - that approached American positions.⁷ One of them, a seasoned war photographer, commented "I've gone through enough wars to know that it's always dirty, that civilians are always the first victims. But the way it was happening here, it was insane."⁸

Even in territories under the control of the U.S. troops, civilians are killed and maimed by indiscriminate gunfire. On April 14, for example, at least 7 Iraqis were shot dead in Mosul during protests against a pro-U.S. speech by the newly-installed local governor.⁹ In a similar incident on April 28 in the city of Fallujah, 13 civilians were killed and 75 injured by U.S. troops who fired at peaceful demonstrators.¹⁰

Obviously, intentionally targeting civilians is a blatant war crime. The use of cluster bombs, that has been admitted by both the U.S. and British military,¹¹ is also prohibited under the Geneva Law as they are inherently indiscriminate weapons that harm both civilians and combatants.¹²

Destruction to infrastructure that is vital for public health

The public health consequences of war go far beyond the direct casualties caused by weapons. Water, for example, is essential to prevent health problems including malnutrition, gastro-intestinal infections and other communicable diseases. Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions explicitly states: "It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as (...) drinking water installations and supplies." On March 21, however, air raids knocked out Basra's electrical power, disabling the city's water and sanitation systems. At the end of April, water and electricity supplies in Basra were still at only 60 percent of their prewar levels.¹³

On April 3, power to 90 percent of Baghdad was cut because of the damage to a power station during the American capture of Saddam International Airport.¹⁴ The World Health Organization warned three days later that Iraq was facing the risk of an outbreak of cholera or other infectious illnesses, as clean drinking water was scarce and hospitals were with many patients beyond capacity.¹⁵ Alarmingly, UNICEF reported a huge increase in child diarrhoeal cases in Baghdad on April 21.¹⁶ Although water was being supplied to most parts of Baghdad by the end of April, the sanitation situation remained extremely critical.¹⁷

Looting of hospitals

More damaging than the direct impact of the fighting was the looting and arson that erupted as soon as the U.S. and British troops had gained control over the cities. This is particularly alarming as the occupying powers have the responsibility to ensure public order and safety. Moreover, the Fourth Geneva Convention states that an occupying power has the duty "of ensuring and maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied territories."

As early as April 9 Veronique Taveau, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI), criticized U.S.-led troops saying it was a breach of their obligations as an occupying force under international law to prevent chaos.¹⁸ Still, the prevailing attitude of the American military and civilian authorities toward the widespread looting that broke out after their occupation of Iraq's major cities was as if they couldn't care less.

"It's untidy. Freedom's untidy. Stuff happens. Free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things," was U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's stupefying reaction.¹⁹ While the hospitals of Baghdad were being pillaged, U.S. commander Tommy Franks explicitly ordered his troops NOT to use deadly force against looters.²⁰

As a result, "the medical system of Baghdad has virtually collapsed," the ICRC alarmingly wrote, as soon as Baghdad was under U.S. control.²¹ In some hospitals, the staff and community members were able to secure the furniture and equipment but most of Baghdad's hospitals were laid waste by the mob.²² Only on April 22, UNICEF reported that health services were no longer deteriorating and the situation started to stabilize, albeit at a very low level.²³

The reluctance of the occupying forces to prevent looting seems to be a case of willful neglect at best, yet there are also reports that U.S. troops actually encouraged Iraqis to go on a rampage. For example, a foreign observer, Khaled Bayomi, who teaches at the University of Lund, Sweden, testified that he saw American troops encourage looting an unspecified administrative building and the Department of Justice.²⁴ The British journalist Robert Fisk observed that the American troops had the ability to stop the looting as they were able to safeguard the Ministry of Oil, cynically revealing their priorities. But Fisk was particularly disturbed by his discovery that the destruction of Iraq's civilian infrastructure was systematically organized. "The looters come first," he writes, "The arsonists turn up later, often in blue-and-white buses." According to Fisk, "The passengers in those buses are clearly being directed to their targets."²⁵

Targeting ambulances and medical personnel

During the fighting, medical infrastructure and personnel enjoy particular protection under the rules of war. Article 12 of Protocol II states: "Medical units shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack," while Article 15 adds that "Civilian medical personnel shall be respected and protected." Article 21 extends the protection also to medical vehicles, including ambulances.

Under occupation "the occupying power shall afford civilian medical personnel in occupied territories every assistance to enable them to perform, to the best of their ability, their humanitarian functions." Moreover, they should give health personnel access "to any place where their services are essential," says Article 15 of Protocol II.

There are disturbing reports, however, that ambulances have deliberately been fired upon by U.S. troops. On April 9, for example, MATW doctors Geert Van Moorter and Harrie Dewitte were at the Saddam Center for Plastic Surgery, which was functioning as a frontline hospital for the war-wounded. They witnessed how one of their ambulances that had left to transport patients to another hospital came back after a couple of minutes after it had been under fire by U.S. troops. Two of the patients it transported were dead and the driver and his co-driver sustained gunshot wounds. When Dr. Van Moorter went up to a U.S. officer to denounce their attitude, he answered that "the ambulance could contain explosives."²⁶

The U.S. occupying forces reportedly also prevented patients from seeking treatment and health personnel from moving around. Medical crews were reportedly even shot at by U.S. troops when they tried to retrieve the injured after the Americans killed 13 protesters in the city of Fallujah on April 28. This was confirmed by Dr. Ahmed Ghanim al-Ali, director of Fallujah General Hospital.²⁷

A reinvigorated global anti-war movement is essential for people's health

Although it is still impossible to make any reliable assessment of this war's impact on public health, it appears that the civilian population, the health system and health personnel have suffered tremendously. Moreover, there are ample indications that the U.S. and British troops have committed grave war crimes, both as invading and as occupying forces. The occupying forces' behavior in the areas under their control has also revealed their lack of concern for the civilian population.

MATW has issued an urgent appeal that demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of U.S. and British troops and the full restoration of Iraq's sovereignty on the entire Iraqi territory and on the basis of the Iraqi people's own free will. It likewise urges the U.S. and Great Britain to pay reparations for all direct and indirect damages and suffering their war has inflicted upon the Iraqi people.

At the same time, justice will have to be delivered to the Iraqi people. Several initiatives are being prepared to file cases against the military and civilian authorities of the U.S. and Britain. Lawyers and other professionals are expected to volunteer their expertise and monitor the proceedings to see to it that justice prevails.

But whatever evidence there is about individual war crimes, it should not be forgotten that this war was unjust, immoral and illegal in the first place. Moreover, the insatiable greed for money, power and natural resources - that propelled the U.S. and Great Britain to war - will not disappear with Iraq's occupation. Unless it is thwarted by a broad people's movement against war, it will lead to another arms race that will deplete resources for health and social services and lead to many more imperialist wars. The further consolidation and expansion of the global anti-war movement that has emerged before the start of the attacks on Iraq is therefore essential for people's health. Intal-MATW/Bulatlat.com

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1 Iraqbodycount derives casualty figures from a comprehensive survey of online media reports and eyewitness accounts. Their methodology can be found at http://www.iraqbodycount.net/background.htm#methods.

2 "Weary Iraq counts human cost of war" The Observer, 20 April 2003

3 Bradley Graham and Dan Morgan "U.S. Has No Plans to Count Civilian Casualties" Washington Post, 15 April 2003

4 Dr. Amany Haroon, who works at the Al-Noor hospital in the Shula district of Baghdad eventually mentioned 67 civilians died and 46 were wounded. "From a hospital in the al-Shu'la district" 28 April 2003 (http://electroniciraq.net/news/716.shtml)

5 "Bombings kill 48 more civilians south of Baghdad" AFP, 2 April 2003

6 William Branigin  "A Gruesome Scene on Highway 9: 10 Dead After Vehicle Shelled at Checkpoint" Washington Post, 1 April 2003

7 Mark Franchetti "US Marines Turn Fire on Civilians at the Bridge of Death" The Times, 30 March 2003; Paul Eedle "The marines shot anything they considered a threat" The Financial Times, 10 April 2003; Robert Fisk "We're here to fight the regime, not civilians, but I had to save my men" The Independent, 11 April 2003

8 "J'ai vu directement une quinzaine de civils tués en deux jours. Je connais assez la guerre pour savoir qu'elle est toujours sale, que les civils sont les premières victimes. Mais comme ça, c'est absurde." Michel Guerrin "J'ai vu des marines américains tuer des civils" Le Monde, April 13, 2003

9 "US admits killing 'at least seven' in Mosul" The Times, 16 April 2003

10 "U.S. soldiers fire on Iraqi protesters; hospital chief says 13 Iraqis are dead" Associated Press, 29 April 2003

11 Human Rights Watch "U.S. Misleading on Cluster Munitions" 25 April 2003

12 Amnesty International "Iraq: Use of cluster bombs -- Civilians pay the price" 2 April 2003, AI Index: MDE 14/065/2003

13 International Committee of the Red Cross "ICRC: Iraq is at a crucial stage" 20 April 2003

14 Anthony Shadid "Blackout Increases Foreboding, Darkness Stills City Bracing for Chaos" Washington Post, 4 April 2003

15 "Iraq at risk of cholera epidemic" AFP, 7 April 2003

16 United Nations "UN relief agencies praised Iraqi health workers" 21 April 2003

17 United Nations "UN relief agencies report slow improvement in Iraq, but situation still 'precarious'" 22 April 2003

18 Suleiman al-Khalidi "Agencies: US-Led Troops Must Rein in Iraq Looters" Reuters, 10 April 2003

19 Brian Whitaker "Free to do bad things" The Guardian, 12 April 2003

20 Ravi Nessman "Franks: U.S. stays until free gov't forms" Associated Press, 11 April 2003

21 International Committee of the Red Cross "The medical system in Baghdad has virtually collapsed" 11 April 2003

22 International Committee of the Red Cross "ICRC: The medical system of Baghdad totally disrupted by insecurity and looting" 12 April 2003; International Committee of the Red Cross "ICRC: Dire situation in hospitals" 17 April 2003

23 United Nations "UN relief agencies report slow improvement in Iraq, but situation still 'precarious'" 22 April 2003

24 Ole Rothenborg "US Forces deliberately encouraged the looting" Article in Swedish published in Dagens Nyheter, 11 April 2003

25 Robert Fisk "For the people on the streets, this is not liberation but a new colonial oppression" The Independent, 17 April 2003

26 "US troops fire on ambulance, two killed" AFP, 10 April 2003; A resident of Najaf is also quoted in an April 29 AFP report saying that "Why did the Americans target civilians? They even hit ambulances trying to rescue those injured and killed five medics." in "US cluster bombing leaves Iraqi city angry over dead, maimed" AFP, 29 April 2003

27 "U.S. soldiers fire on Iraqi protesters; hospital chief says 13 Iraqis are dead" Associated Press, 29 April 2003

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