BASRA, IRAQ
Ramsey Clark delegation tours U.S. bombing site
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and a delegation
from International ANSWER--the Act Now to Stop War and End
Racism coalition--arrived in the Iraqi city of Basra Aug. 27.
Two days earlier a U.S. bombing raid there killed eight Iraqi
civilians. The delegation toured the site of the bombing, met
with families of those killed and visited a wounded victim in a
local hospital.
U.S. and British aerial attacks have continued almost daily
since the Gulf War 11 years ago, though this is rarely reported
in the U.S. corporate media.
The delegation's aim is to gather information on the
continuing impact of U.S.-led United Nations sanctions, which
have claimed over 1 million lives, and to show solidarity with
the Iraqi people as they prepare for a threatened U.S. war and
invasion. Clark is the founder and chairperson of the
International Action Center (IAC), which has campaigned against
the devastating economic sanctions for more than a decade.
Other delegates include Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder
of the Partnership for Civil Justice; Johnnie Stevens,
co-director of Peoples Video Network; Kadouri al-Kaysi,
coordinator of the Committee in Solidarity with the Iraqi
People; and Brian Becker, co-director of the IAC.
In a statement released by the IAC Aug. 28, Clark said: "We
came to Basra to visit the hospitals and interview doctors and
patients about the state of health care in Basra. We had
planned to come here because the region is suffering stunning
cancer rates. This area was the site of the greatest use of
depleted uranium weapons by U.S. forces in the Gulf War.
"Two days before we arrived in Basra," Clark continued,
"U.S. war planes struck again, killing and wounding more than
20 people. We visited one of the wounded at the Basra Training
Hospital and interviewed workers in the area who saw and heard
the gigantic explosion the morning of Aug. 25.
"While we were in Basra, U.S. war planes carried out two
more major bombing attacks against the airport in Mosul and
against civil and service installations in Al-Nukhayb, located
south of Baghdad," he added. The ANSWER delegates were
scheduled to inspect the Mosul airport Aug. 29.
They are also visiting food distribution centers and
hospitals and meeting with high government officials.
Salutes Iraq's 'steadfastness and
resistance'
Xinhua News Agency reported that Clark met with Iraqi Deputy
Prime Minister Tariq Aziz Aug. 26. He saluted the
"steadfastness and resistance of the Iraqi people" and voiced
his support for Iraq's resistance to President George W. Bush's
invasion plans. Bush's threats constitute war crimes and crimes
against peace under international law.
On Aug. 27, Clark appeared live on Pacifica Radio's
"Democracy Now!" program. The former attorney general debated a
Pentagon spokesperson, Lt. Col. David Lapan. Readers can listen
to the debate on the Web by going to
www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/.
The Iraqi News Agency reported Aug. 28 that the ANSWER
delegates met with Minister of Health Dr. Omeed Midhat Mubarak
in Baghdad. He explained that the sanctions and daily bombings
continue to impose high rates of disease, death and
environmental destruction on the Iraqi people.
Mubarak added that the U.S. government still pressures the
UN Security Council to enforce measures restricting the import
of basic medicines and medical equipment.
In his Aug. 28 statement, Clark said: "People in the United
States must recognize that the war against Iraq goes on every
day as the Bush administration prepares for a major ground war.
... Bombing and sanctions constitute an integrated strategy
designed to overthrow the Iraqi government and replace it with
a proxy regime similar to what now exists in Afghanistan.
"The U.S. government falsely declares that its campaign
against Iraq is motivated by a concern over Iraq's potential
possession of non-conventional weapons. But the real goal is to
dominate the strategic and oil-rich region and to destroy any
government and people that desire to maintain their
independence.
"It is urgent that this country be allowed to trade, buy and
sell all the products necessary to sustain and improve life,"
Clark continued. "The U.S. government is guilty of violating
the basic tenets of international law as it wages aggression
against Iraq. We urge all progressive people in the U.S. and
elsewhere to take immediate action to end the criminal campaign
against Iraq."
Updated reports from the delegation can be found on the Web
site: www.iacenter.org.
--Greg Butterfield
Reprinted from the Sept. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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