Gideon Polya, “Iraqi Massacre Continues. One Million post-invasion excess deaths”, MWC News, 2 February 2007, partly cached by Google.
Iraqi Massacre Continues. One Million post-invasion excess deaths
As we approach the Fourth Anniversary of the illegal Anglo-American-Australian-Coalition invasion of Iraq, we must again ask the question what is the total number of post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) after 4 years of violent US-Coalition occupation?
In October 2006 an estimate of “655,000 post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Iraq as of July 2006” came from a top medical epidemiology research team in America's (and the World's) top Public Health Department at a top US university (Johns Hopkins) and was published peer-reviewed in a top medical journal (The Lancet) and endorsed by 27 top Australian medical experts in the area (see: 1,2,3,4,5).
Consider the following estimate from the Johns Hopkins medical scientists of "annual death rate per 1,000 of population" of 13.3 (post-invasion Iraq) as compared to (a) 5.5 (for pre-invasion Iraq after 12 years of crippling Sanctions) and (b) 4.0 (for Iraq's resource-poor but peaceful neighbours Syria and Jordan; UN Population Division data: 6).
The "post-invasion excess death rate/1000 of population" was 13.3 - 5.5 = 7.8 (Comparison A) or 13.3 - 4.0 = 9.3 (Comparison B). Assuming an average population of 27 million, the "post-invasion excess deaths" total (over 4 years i.e. as of February 2007) (A) 7.8 x 2,700 x 4 = 842,000 and (B) 9.3 x 2,700 x 4 = 1,004,400 i.e. ONE MILLION.
The number of Iraqi refugees now total 3.7 million - 2.0 million outside Iraq and 1.7 million inside Iraq – and UNHCR predicts that there will be up to 2.3 million internally displaced people within Iraq by the end of this year. (see: 7). Excess deaths in Iraq during the Sanctions War totalled 1.7 million (from UN Population Division data: 6 ). The carnage in Iraq constitutes a US-driven Iraqi Genocide (Genocide as clearly defined by Article II subsections (a) -(d) of the Internationally-agreed UN Genocide Convention: 8).
UN Genocide Convention Article II:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
This carnage has occurred because of gross US, UK, Australian and Coalition violation of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, notably Articles 55 and 56 which demand unequivocally that an Occupier should do everything “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” to keep its Conquered Subjects ALIVE (noting that the Occupiers of Iraq are the richest countries in the World but the annual per capita medical expenditure permitted by the Occupiers in Occupied Iraq is about $58 as compared to about $7,000 in Metropolitan USA; see MWC News: 9 ).
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War:
Article 55. To the fullest extent of the means available to it the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.
The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical supplies available in the occupied territory, except for use by the occupation forces and administration personnel, and then only if the requirements of the civilian population have been taken into account. Subject to the provisions of other international Conventions, the Occupying Power shall make arrangements to ensure that fair value is paid for any requisitioned goods.
The Protecting Power shall, at any time, be at liberty to verify the state of the food and medical supplies in occupied territories, except where temporary restrictions are made necessary by imperative military requirements.
Article 56. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the 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 territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties.
If new hospitals are set up in occupied territory and if the competent organs of the occupied State are not operating there, the occupying authorities shall, if necessary, grant them the recognition provided for in Article 18. In similar circumstances, the occupying authorities shall also grant recognition to hospital personnel and transport vehicles under the provisions of Articles 20 and 21.
In adopting measures of health and hygiene and in their implementation, the Occupying Power shall take into consideration the moral and ethical susceptibilities of the population of the occupied territory.
Conclusion
After 4 years of illegal, violent Occupation the post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Iraq total ONE MILLION (UN Population Division and medical literature data). Taken together with 1.7 million excess deaths in the 1990-2003 Sanctions War (UN Population Division) and 3.7 million Iraqi refugees (UNHCR), this constitutes an Iraqi Genocide (as defined by the UN Genocide Convention) and an Iraqi Holocaust in comparison with the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million victims). The Iraqi under-5 infant deaths (1990-2007) now total 1.8 million, 90% having been avoidable and due to Western war crimes. Total Iraqi excess deaths (1990-2007) total 2.7 million. The post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Afghanistan now total 2.2 million (see MWC News: 5 ). Three quarters of the people of Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan are Women and Children – the Bush War on Terror is in horrible reality a cowardly War on Women and Children, a War on Asian Women and Children and a War on Muslim Women and Children.
Those who knowingly ignore, deny, minimize, obfuscate, excuse, advocate, support or effect carnage associated with the Iraqi Holocaust – or indeed the Afghan Holocaust or any other Holocaust - are variously complicit in Holocaust Promotion, Holocaust Commission, Holocaust Ignoring, Passive Holocaust Denial and Holocaust Denial (see MWC News: 5 and 3 ).
Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. Decent people are absolutely obliged to (a) inform others about horrendous abuse of humanity such as the Iraqi Holocaust; and (b) act ethically in their personal and business dealings with those complicit in such awful crimes (e.g. by personal and collective Intra-national and Inter-national Sanctions and Boycotts). The Iraqi Holocaust and the Afghan Holocaust are two violent parts of an on-going Third World Holocaust on First World-commanded Spaceship Earth in which 16 million people die avoidably every year – 10 million being under-5 year old infants (see MWC News: 9 ).
Gentle Reader, please ACT by forwarding this quantitative and documented Summary in the name of Humanity to all your associates and to Congressmen, Parliamentary Representatives and Local, Mainstream and Alternative Media.We must ALL ask ourselves the question (before our Children or Grandchildren do) - what did YOU do in the War on Women and Children?
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