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--- Begin Forwarded Message --- Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 14:02:48 +0100 From: Eric Herring <eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk> Subject: Sweeney on Pilger on Iraq Sender: Eric.Herring@bristol.ac.uk To: letters@spectator.co.uk Cc: Eric Herring <eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk> Reply-To: Eric Herring <eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk> Message-ID: <EXECMAIL.1030630140248.K@pol-pc97.bristol.ac.uk> Dear Editor Please find a shorter and a longer version of this letter below. Feel free to edit either for publication. Yours faithfully Dr. Eric Herring Senior Lecturer in International Politics As principal academic consultant on the sanctions on Iraq for John Pilger's 2001 documentary 'Paying the Price', I dispute John Sweeney's (28 June) characterisation of the film regarding public health issues. It is demonstrably not true that the film attributed the public health catastrophe in Iraq solely to the United States. Pilger stated that 'In Baghdad, what foreigners don't see are well stocked clinics where Saddam Hussein and his rich cronies get first class treatment'. Sweeney objects to the film's allocation of a central role to the sanctions in the suffering of Iraqis. There is copious evidence that the UN itself made a direct connection between sanctions and suffering in Iraq. The claim that medicines were deliberately not distributed on Saddam's orders has never been proven. In 1998, the World Health Organisation recommended that Iraq stockpile more to ensure that medicines were available for those most in need. That year, a distribution bottleneck occurred: this was attributed by the UN to a 'surge in arrivals' amongst other things and was resolved by July 1999. John Sweeney (28 June) offered a critique of John Pilger's 2001 documentary 'Paying the Price' on Iraq. I am not qualified to comment on the epidemiology of depleted uranium and chemical weapons. However, as principal academic consultant to the film on the sanctions, I dispute Sweeney's characterisation of the film regarding health issues. It is demonstrably not true that the film attributed the public health catastrophe in Iraq solely to the United States. Pilger stated that 'In Baghdad, what foreigners don't see are well stocked clinics where Saddam Hussein and his rich cronies get first class treatment'. Sweeney objects to the film's allocation of a central role to the sanctions in the suffering of Iraqis. There is copious evidence that the UN itself made a direct connection between sanctions and suffering in Iraq. The UN stated repeatedly and consistently that the UN's Oil For Food programme would be totally inadequate even if the Iraqi government did optimise the effectiveness of its humanitarian programmes. It is true that dirty water was (and is) is a dire threat to public health in Iraq. Before the sanctions and then the bombing in 1991, 92% of Iraqis had access to safe water. The claim that medicines were deliberately not distributed on Saddam's orders has yet to be proven and certainly was not proven when the film was being made. The situation was so awful that there was no need for Saddam to deny medical supplies: a huge number of Iraqi children were going to die anyway. As for warehousing of medicines, not only did the UN favour stockpiling, the World Health Organisation recommended that Iraq stockpile more to ensure that medicines were available for those most in need. In 1998, a distribution bottleneck occurred: this was attributed by the UN to a 'surge in arrivals' amongst other things and was resolved by July 1999. In making his case, Sweeney has misrepresented the film and ignored all the relevant UN reports. ---------------------- Dr. Eric Herring Department of Politics University of Bristol 10 Priory Road Bristol BS8 1TU England, UK Office tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582 Mobile tel. +44-(0)7771-966608 Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133 eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics/ http://www.ericherring.com/ _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk