November 29-December 2: Montana Peace Seeker Network Speaker Tour:
"Sanctioning Iraq and Killing Iraqi Civilians: Illegal US actions during the Persian Gulf War and after" — Lectures by Thomas J. Nagy, Ph.D., Professor of Expert Systems at George Washington University in Washington DC.
Nagy will be a guest speaker in Montana as part of a Montana Peace Seekers Network speaking tour that will take Nagy to Billings (11/29), Butte (11/30), Bozeman (12/1), Helena (12/1-2) and Missoula (12/2).
Thomas J. Nagy Nagy is an internationally-respected Washington DC scholar who is Associate Professor of Expert Systems in the George Washington University School of Business and Public Management . In the course of his earlier research Nagy discovered some shocking facts concerning US military actions and about the origins and intent of the US sanctions against Iraq and published his findings in a report, "The Secret Behind the Sanctions: How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq's Water Supply," September 2001 issue of The Progressive: www.progressive.org/0801issue/press0901.html. Nagy's article shows that there were extremely serious and still-deadly U.S. violations of international law and human rights in US Defense Department planning for the 1991 US war against Iraq and in the implementation of the sanctions against Iraq.
Dr. Nagy's home page at George Washington University can be found at: home.gwu.edu/~nagy/ and he can be reached by phone at: (202) 994-7090 (his office at GWU) or at (301) 564-0326.
Nagy is a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Presenter at the 1999 and 2001 DOD's Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics. Nagy is a scholar and knowledgeable peace advocate who speaks out on the issues related to war with Iraq as a parent, ex-refugee and college professor who did his postdoctoral work in public health and as former research director with the American Bar Association.
Nagy was part of a fact-finding delegation that visited Iraq (late September and October) at the behest of the Canadian Affiliate of the Nobel Peace Prizing winner in 1985 to estimate civilian fatalities in the event of another full scale war. He is undertaking his Montana Peace Seekers Network speaking tour in the hope that if the information he has discovered is known to may help to save the lives of thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqi children and their families.
Nagy has recently been examining another US military policy document, "Strategic Attack" (see reference #15 below) which Nagy believes should be widely examined because it contains admissions of actions that Nagy and other scholars consider to be illegal under international law and are war crimes.
Nagy concludes in his "Secret Behind the Sanctions" report that the Pentagon and DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) documents he discovered demonstrate that "...the United States knew it had the capacity to devastate the water treatment system of Iraq. It knew what the consequences would be: increased outbreaks of disease and high rates of child mortality. And it was more concerned about the public relations nightmare for Washington than the actual nightmare that the sanctions created for innocent Iraqis..."
In assembling his 2001 report Nagy relied on documents obtained from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and paints a chilling picture of US military planners determined to use sanctions to spread disease and death among civilians in Iraq. Nagy showed that these US military actions during the 1991 Persian Gulf War violated international law concerning warfare and should be considered war crimes. Subsequently, according to UN (World Health Organization and UNICEF) reports, as a result of UN and US sanctions (not the actions of the Iraqi government ) more than 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of page 5 died due to water borne diseases, a situation that continues to this very moment to harm extremely vulnerable segments of Iraq's civilian population, primarily babies and the elderly, for whom unclean water is a major contributor to their deaths.
Nagy is greatly concerned by the fact that the U.S. policy of destroying the water treatment system of Iraq and preventing, through the US/UN sanctions policy and practice, its re-establishment has been pursued for more than a decade.
Nagy's careful studies show that the US' insistence on using this type of sanction against Iraq is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention was created in 1979 to protect the victims of international armed conflict. It states, "It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population such as foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installation and supplies, and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive." The United States, for nearly a decade, has "destroyed, removed, or rendered useless" Iraq's "drinking water installations and supplies."
More Background
Easy reference to some Nagy-related articles:
1) Thomas J. Nagy, "The Secret Behind the Sanctions: How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq's Water Supply," www.commondreams.org/views01/0808-07.htm and www.progressive.org./0801issue/nagy0901.html
2)Larry Johnson, "In Baghdad, US Activists Roll Up Sleeves to Give Blood, Not Shed It,"e; Thursday, October 10, 2002,Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (...re Nagy's September-October trip to Iraq) www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1010-03.htm
3) Sean Gonsalves (Cape Cod Times), Bombing Dual-Use Targets? Tuesday, November 12, 2002, www.commondreams.org/views02/1112-05.htm
4) Project Censored at Sonora State University (news release regarding their choice of Nagy's article "The Secret Behind the Sanctions" as #5 on the 2001-2002 most censored story list by Project Censored) www.commondreams.org/news2002/0828-04.htm
5) Thomas J. Nagy, "Taboo, War Crime or Genocide Denial, and Economic Sanctions on Iraq: Moving from Bystander to Rescuer." Audiotape of Nagy's talk at the McMaster University Conference on The Effects of Sanctions on Health: A Case Study of the Gulf, Hamilton, ON - Canada, February 9th, 2002 home.gwu.edu/~nagy/
6) Thomas J. Nagy, "Health Impact of Economic Sanctions: Taboos and Willed Ignorance- Moving From Guilty Bystander to Active Rescuer," Nagy's paper presented at the 15th World Congress International Physicians for the prevention of Nuclear War & Physicians for Social Responsibility: Summit for Survival, Washington, D.C., May 4, 2002. home.gwu.edu/~nagy/
7) Thomas J. Nagy, "The Role of 'Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities' in Halting One Genocide and Preventing Others." Paper presented at Association of Genocide Scholars, Fourth Biennial Conference, June, 2001. home.gwu.edu/~nagy/
8) Greg Barrett (Gannett News Service), "Report: Sanctions imperil Iraqis. Civilians fear being caught in crossfire" (Detroit News) detnews.com/2002/nation/0208/04/a05-553459.htm and in the Seattle Times: archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/ display?slug=sanctions04&date=20020804&query=nagy_iraq" "Prof. Thomas Nagy came across a document in 1998 which warned about increased incidence of diseases in Iraq due to degradation of normal preventive medicine, waste disposal, water purification-distribution and electricity... Nagy said if the document were about the U.S., "it would be called terrorism. Or worse. Genocide."
9) Thomas J. Nagy, "Pamphlet to adapt for Appearances of [former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline] Albright or other instigators/apologists for U.S. Foreign Policy — especially SANCTIONS" home.gwu.edu/~nagy/
10) John Nichols: "U.S. Sanctions Against Iraq are a Crime," Capital Times (Madison, WI) www.commondreams.org/views01/0815-03.htm
11) Norbert Payne/Coil'n ”hAiseadha: "Nagy Visit on Iraq Sanctions Takes Denmark by Storm" www.commondreams.org/views02/0715-06.htm
12) Lynda Hurst: "Caught in the Crossfire"...The young people of Iraq have known nothing other than hunger, disease, poverty and isolation www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1006-04.htm
13) A search at Google.com [searching "nagy + sanctions" — URL given below] shows that Nagy's research has gotten published and reference in the alternative press and reveals some veery interesting commentaries on the implications of Nagy's work, and is very worth spending some time on. Please see: www.google.com/search? hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Nagy+%2B+sanctions&btnG=Google+Search
14) Thomas J. Nagy, <Safeguarding "Our" American Children by Saving "Their" Iraqi Children: Gandhian Transformation of the DIA'S Genocide Planning, Assessment, and Cover-up Documents>, in Tariq Ismael (Ed.) Sanctioning Iraq: The Iraq Question in World Politics. (Zed Press, 2002)... forthcoming.
15) Thomas Nagy's current research has been focused on a legal and ethical analysis of U.S. Air Force Doctrine Document 2-1.2, "Strategic Attack" and the implications of this document concerning US war crimes (those already committed and about to be committed in the next war against Iraq if the policies in this document are followed now as they were in 1991). The "Strategic Attack" document (20 may 1998) is posted on the U. S. Air Force Doctrines documents site (about #7 on the list):
www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubs/speclist.asp? puborg=AFDC&series=dd
Professor Nagy believes that the content of the USAF "Strategic Attack" document, if widely known, could and should be used to argue for revoking the blank check given to President Bush regarding the use of force against Iraq by the US Congress and to give the United Nations additional reasons for demanding restraint from the United States after the recent Security Council vote. This is because the document appears to be documentary evidence from the USAF regarding what appears to be an open admission and approval of the war crime of destroying or rendering useless items essential to the survival of civilian populations. This is specifically banned by Protocol Additional #1 of the Geneva Conventions, Article 54, par. 2 — and is an illegal action under international law and a war crime.
Nagy's comments on the USAF "Strategic Attack" doctrine highlight why he believe it is urgent to have the public examine the document and its policies: "...They appear to be, on their face, to constitute grave war crimes within the meaning of Article 54 (which is now customary and ordinary and hence binding upon the U.S. according to Lt. Col. Solis, who teaches international law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point). Nor is this a matter of past history, since according to the UN, water borne disease continues after all these years to be the leading killer of children under the age of 5 in Iraq — a situation that Rep. Hall (2000 letter to then Sec. of State Albright) quoting UNICEF attributes to U.S. holds on contracts deemed by the UN to be indispensable to the rehabilitation of the water supply..."
Noam Chomsky wrote 11/8/02: "Dear Frank Kromkowski, ... I'm familiar with Nagy's earlier work. He's quite right. And I have no doubt that the same is planned this time. All that has to be added is that this is standard operating procedure. The US has never accepted international conventions on war crimes and crimes against humanity. It's hard to think of a use of force where they have not been grossly violated, quite consciously and purposefully, and accepted by educated opinion, often praised. Not pretty, but no point having illusions about it. ~ Noam Chomsky. "
Nagy's concern is with previous and likely future grave violations of Protocol 1, Article 54, paragraph 2 (1977) of the Geneva Convention which bans attacking or rendering useless infrastructure essential to the survival of civilian populations under any circumstances. Nagy says: "I am gravely concerned in view of, inter alia the admission on p. 26 of U.S. Air Force Doctrine Document 2-1.2, "Strategic Attack" dated 20 May, 1998 that "The electrical attacks [on Iraq] proved extremely effective... The loss of electricity shut down the capital's water treatment plants and led to a public health crisis from raw sewage dumped in the Tigris River." Lt. Col. Rizer in the May 2001 issue of "Air & Space Power Chronicles" [see below] elaborates on the effect of this bombing attributing to it a massive epidemic of water borne disease that killed 100,000 civilians and doubled the infant mortality rate." (Reference: Kenneth R Rizer, "Bombing Dual-Use Targets: Legal, Ethical, and Doctrinal Perspectives") www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/ airchronicles/cc/Rizer.html Nagy is very worried that in view of the imminent prospect of an expanded war against Iraq that the same "Strategic Attack" doctrine — illegal — will be applied, resulting in more than the 100,000 civilian fatalities from water borne disease estimated by Lt. Col. Rizer in his Maxwell AFB article referenced above.
Nagy is currently pursuing contacts with congressional opponents of the war resolution to discuss the USAF documents and possible constructive steps such as inclusion of the relevant portions into the Congressional Record and using the documents as the basis for calling for reconsideration of legislative approval of the blank check to President Bush.
Nagy's conclusion is that how these actions and policies he has discovered could not possibly contribute to US national security in a way consistent with law and morality, and he is devoted to bringing these issues to the wider public in the United States and around the world. Nagy, a scholar and peace advocate, does not attack military personnel in his approach to this issue and its tremendous ethical implications. Nagy writes "...I have over the years taught many military officers. I do not believe they are willing killers (directly or indirectly of children). In fact I believe that vast majority are conscientious and decent people. I believe, however, that continuing to kill Iraqi children endangers, rather than safeguards our own children. I blame primarily professors such as myself for refusing to face up to the consequences of a disastrous policy which was not designed for genocide but has had and continues to have a genocidal impact to the detriment of all."
Nagy says in a letter he wrote to his Congressional representatives: "It is my hope that this letter will hasten the end of a grave crime, prevent future instances and lead to a saner, more humane and safer world — especially for children. I'm sure that you and your colleagues [in Congress] agree with these goals. I ask only that you will do your duty pursuant to your oath to defend the Constitution by passing on my letter and doing all in your power to see that justice is done and that the laws are followed. I presume that, unlike me, you are a lawyer and are fully conversant with the Law of Air Combat as well as the Nuremberg Principle that superior orders can not be used as a defense in matters involving war crimes. ~ Sincerely, Thomas J. Nagy, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. of Expert Systems, George Washington University School of Business and Public Management, Washington, D.C. 20052 202/994-7090, " 16) August 13, 2001 Interview of Nagy by Amy Goodman on Democracy NOW! Story: THE SECRET BEHIND THE SANCTIONS: HOW THE US INTENTIONALLY DESTROYED IRAQ'S WATER SUPPLY www.webactive.com/pacifica/ demnow/dn20010813.html "
17) www.flyte.net/iraq/about.html#Thomas Tom Nagy bio — for a conference: The Effects of Sanctions on Health: A Case Study on the Gulf, February 9th, 2002, McMasteer University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
18) www.house.gov/mckinney/news/pr010814.htm Congresswoman McKinney decries war against Iraqi people
19) "Total control, not self-defense, behind US plans to topple Saddam" By Stephen Gowans www3.sympatico.ca/sr.gowans/total.html
20) Excerpts from the book "The Decline and Fall of
Public Broadcasting" by David Barsamian,South End Press, 2001 www.thirdworldtraveler.com/ Media_control_propaganda/Decline_Fall_PublicBroad.html
21) How Many Dead Children from Sanctions?www.iraqwar.org/childunicef.htm