A damning Iraq report and nobody held responsible

"Hundreds of bodies continued to appear in different areas of Baghdad, handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture and execution-style killing. Many witnesses reported that perpetrators wear militia attire and even police or army uniforms"

By Ameen Izzadeen

As the Iraqis are being slaughtered at a rate that even morgues cannot cope with, the political debate is centred on US withdrawal. Some say whatever excuses the Americans put forward for their unwillingness to withdraw and whatever consequences that may arise as a result of US withdrawal, the Americans must leave Iraq. But there are others who say the Americans must stay on because if they leave now the country would be plunged into a disaster.

Disaster has already hit Iraq. In fact, the worst is happening now. The question whether the Americans leave or stay does not make a difference. People are being killed at an astonishing rate never before found in human history. If the trend continues for a few more years, there will only be Iraq and no Iraqis.

Yet the George W. Bush administration tries to step up the drumbeat for more troops for Iraq and rules out early withdrawal despite a majority of the American public expressing their disapproval of their country's Iraq policy at the November 7 mid-term elections.

An Iraqi weeps over the coffin of his relative in Baghdad's impoverished district of Sadr City, 24 November 2006. Four car bombs killed 202 people on Thursday in Sadr City triggering fears of Shiite reprisals against Sunni Arabs. AFP

Even hardcore Iraq war supporters now admit the invasion was a mistake. The latest high-profile public figure to express doubts about success in Iraq is Henry Kissinger, a champion of political realism.

The situation in Iraq is nothing but a catastrophe. On Wednesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) released a report in which it said that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October - 124 Iraqis a day.

The report described the October death toll as the highest since the US led occupation of Iraq in March 2003. The UNAMI said the increase was the result of the growing influence of armed militias and rampant torture "despite the Government's commitment to address human rights abuse".

"Hundreds of bodies continued to appear in different areas of Baghdad, handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture and execution-style killing. Many witnesses reported that perpetrators wear militia attire and even police or army uniforms," the report said.

The report painted a grim picture of Iraq today; from attacks on journalists, judges and lawyers and the worsening situation of women, to displacement, violence against religious minorities and the targeting of schools.

Who should bear the responsibility for the sad state of affairs? As for the question of responsibility, the Bush administration points the finger at the puppet Iraqi regime and says it should assert its authority and rein in insurgents and militants.

But it is the Bush administration's avaricious war for oil and military dominance of the world that has plunged Iraq into barbarism and made the country a killing field.

The Bush administration had miscalculated the whole Iraq operation which it first wanted to codename Operation Iraq Liberation but changed to Operation Iraq Freedom because the acronym of the first codename was OIL. But every Iraqi knows that the superpower is in their country not to bring them democracy, good governance or liberation from dictatorship. It is OIL and nothing but oil. With its eyes on Iraq's oil, the Bush administration had no clear policy to deal with post-invasion complications. As a result, bloodshed, chaos and sectarian strife appear to be the legacy of the invasion.

The UNAMI report notes that militants operate with almost total impunity with many of the death squads and rival militias having direct links with or being supported by influential political parties which are part of the government and are hiding their affiliation.
Summarising the state of human rights in Iraq, UNAMI says: "The civilian population of Iraq continues to be the victim of terrorist acts, roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, [US-led] military operations, police abuse, kidnappings, common crimes, and cross fire between rival gangs or police and insurgents. The security environment, marked by sectarian intolerance and prejudice, further erodes the freedom to worship or manifest one's religion or to express thoughts. Growing unemployment, poverty, discrimination and diminishing access to basic services undermine socio-economic rights."

If October was the bloodiest month since the invasion in March 2003, Thursday was the bloodiest day with the death toll from a series of bombs in Sadr City, a poor Shiite area of Baghdad, rising to 202. The carnage cannot be confined to statistics. It should shake American conscience because Iraq is being bled to death because of US adventurism that has caused some 600,000 deaths — according to British medical journal Lancet — since the invasion. The Tigris has become a dumping ground for bodies of victims who are abducted and tortured. Some bodies are found in garbage dumps while hundreds of bodies which remain unclaimed in hospital morgues are photographed and buried. Since this is not happening in the US, Britain or Australia-three countries whose leaders appear to relish in the misery of the Iraqis and the tragedy befallen them -there is no statement from George Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard expressing remorse for causing this bloody mess. These leaders who accuse Sudan of committing genocide and crimes against humanity would not describe the Iraqi situation in such terms. They won't. If they do, that would be an admission of guilt. But even if they do, there is no court in the world where these leaders could be tried for crimes against humanity. After all, the wheels of global justice operate only against the poor.