FRFI 147 February / March 1999
So, they had their day. On 16 December 1998 President Clinton called Prime Minister Blair from Air Force One and said, ‘Get ready for strikes’. There followed the British armed forces 29th military intervention in the Middle East since 1945, with four days of bombardment of Iraq. The Pentagon estimated that US and British forces dropped 88,500 tons of ordnance or, on another estimate, the equivalent of some 350,000 Omagh bombs. The Red Cross estimated 200 civilian deaths. Three hospitals were hit, as well as schools and homes.
Clinton justified the attack on the grounds that the Iraqi government was not complying with the United Nations weapons inspection team. Blair said the purpose was to ‘degrade and diminish’ Saddam Hussein’s military potential and ability to threaten neighbours. UN Permanent Security Council members France, Russia and China all opposed the attack, but they were ignored by the USA, determined to demonstrate its power and willingness to use it unrestrained. Clinton did not bother to inform French President Chirac of the assault, leaving that to Blair.
While The Sun encouraged readers to contemplate the prospect of a nuclear attack on Baghdad, more intelligent commentators began to question the logic of the exercise. To suppress doubt and reassure backers, after the raids were launched, Blair announced in Parliament that 30,000 chemical warheads had gone missing in Iraq. British Defence Secretary Robertson told of Iraq’s ‘anthrax airforce’. With the raids over and the Iraqi state’s capacity to maintain resistance and anti-aircraft fire demonstrably intact, US military spokespeople ‘revealed’ that between 600 and 1,600 key Iraqi Republican Guards were killed. So, presumably it was worth it after all.
This shameful business, which provoked only the most meagre of protests in Britain, angered millions of people around the globe, including protesters in Cape Town who embarrassed Blair. It has the most deadly purpose. The Middle East contains 66.4% of the world’s known oil reserves. It has grown in strategic importance with the restoration of access for the energy multinationals to the former Soviet Union Caspian Basin reserves. Who controls oil dominates rivals. The USA must assert its dominance over the Middle East if it is not to face contenders for global hegemony and domination. British capitalists seek to benefit as the loyal junior partner in maintaining the regional status quo. Britain has two of the world’s top five energy mutinationals.
This is why Blair and Clinton will lie, cheat and kill; for oil, profits and power.
Clinton said he ordered the attacks because Iraq would not comply with the UN inspection team. Now his own government officials acknowledge that they planted spies in the team, that the team was used to single out targets for missile attacks and that this was done with the blessing of the team’s chair Richard Butler. This is what the Iraqi government claimed all along and the USA denied.
British Defence Secretary Robertson said of the assault, ‘We are there to protect human beings who have been attacked by Saddam’. Repulsive butchers Saddam Hussein’s regime may be, but they are matched and far exceeded in the killing business by the US and British governments. This is from a journalist with a conscience, Robert Fisk, The Independent, 26 December 1998: ‘the result of eight years of UN sanctions: the 5,000 babies dying every month, the children dying of cancer in the irradiated battlefields of southern Iraq, the villagers drinking water from rivers and taps contaminated with sewage, the girls prostituting themselves…
‘Journalists are afraid of the figure of a million Iraqis dead through sanctions. But if the death toll for children is correct – and the statistic comes from the World Health Organisation – then we are talking about more than 480,000 dead children alone. When do we start talking about genocide?’
The Labour government would not allow a vote on the bombings in the House of Commons. To his credit George Galloway MP sat on the Opposition benches and said, ‘You are cowards, you could not face 20 people opposing you.’ 20, just 20 MPs, it must be noted.
Meanwhile the US and British raids continue. On 25 January 11 civilians were killed and dozens wounded. No Iraqi defence installation could be found where the missiles landed. The Head of US Central Command offered: ‘No one can guarantee that these strikes will not have errors. We deeply regret any civilian casualties.’
In anticipation of the 16 December assault oil prices jumped 18%. Then they fell back. Iraq must be prevented from selling oil if prices and profits are not to fall further. How many barrels of oil is an Iraqi life worth? Not one, seems to be the answer the Labour government would give.
