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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (73163)	2/11/2003 6:26:35 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Vulnerable but ignored: how catastrophe threatens the 12 million children of Iraq Do you have any updates on how the "silent genocide" we were supposed to cause in Afghanistan has been going?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (73163)	2/11/2003 7:37:42 PM
From: frankw1900	Respond to of 281500

Yes, well, when I was a child during the cold war I suffered terrible fears, nightmares and general mental ill health but I survived it and so will most Iraqi children. The US will make enormous efforts to feed Iraqi people, especially children, even if for only cynical reasons, although I believe its motivation will be much higher than that.

To: stockman_scott who wrote (73163)	2/12/2003 1:17:04 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 281500

Baghdad MEPs hit back at critics 30% of Iraqi children are already malnourished and experts fear the consequences of war will be devastating. (Photo: Lisbeth Kirk) EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The 32 MEPs returning from an impromptu visit to Iraq last week have hit back at critics, hailing the mission a success in terms of gathering vital information and putting across a strong anti-war message to the Iraqi people. Irish members of the group prompted a bitter exchange at the opening of the European Parliament’s plenary in Strasbourg yesterday when they accused Parliament President Pat Cox of unfairly criticising their actions. Speaking later to EUObserver, Irish MEP, Patricia McKenna, said the group had been annoyed by comments from the President that the group could be used by the Iraqi regime. "It is very bad form for the President to question the credibility and integrity of the group, giving the impression that we are naïve and vulnerable," she said. Mr Cox told the Irish Independent last week that he respected "the rights of individual members to inform themselves in Iraq but they must not represent themselves as being mandated by the Parliament." "The critical issue is to avoid the appearance of the European Parliament being used by any representative of the Iraqi authorities," he added. Mr Cox defended himself yesterday, saying that "the comments attributed to me were correct." Meeting the regime MEPs from the delegation have played down the significance of meetings with senior ranking officials from the Iraqi regime, stressing that the mission had primarily humanitarian purposes. The group met with General Lt Amir al-Saadi, the chief negotiator with the UN weapons inspectors, and with the speaker of the Iraqi parliament. The Irish Independent noted that the General had been singled out for criticism by General Colin Powell in his address to the United Nations last week. "Saadi’s job is not to cooperate, it is to deceive; not to disarm, but to undermine the inspectors; not to support them," he warned. Humanitarian disaster But Danish MEP, Ulla Sandbaek, defended the meetings, saying that the MEPs had not agreed with the regime’s views and had strongly urged the General and the Speaker of the House to cooperate with the international community regardless of whether its demands were fair. She stressed the humanitarian disaster that would follow any conflict with Iraq. "People will be totally liberated from Saddam Hussein because they will die," she argued. Ms Sandbaek pointed to the seven million people, one third of the population, currently dependent on the UN Food for Oil programme, which allows Iraqis to buy food for a fraction of its price on the open market. "If there is a war, then the food programme, which is being administered by the Iraqi government, will collapse and any number of people will die," she warned. Humanitarian aid groups have already indicated that 30% of children are malnourished and 70% of women who give birth are anaemic due to inadequate food. Infrastructure and vital water supplies would also be destroyed, the MEP said. "This will not be a quick war and the consequences for the Iraqi people will be devastating." Chemical weapons UN weapons inspectors had also told the group that it would be virtually impossible to use the chemical weapons they had or to develop new ones, she argued, while admitting that some weapons sites may still be concealed. MEPs had also volunteered to be impartial witnesses between Iraqi scientists and weapons inspectors, she revealed. The two main arguments, liberating the people and preventing weapons of mass destruction have been "ruled out as nonsense," she said. "The risk of one third of the population dying is a price that is too big to pay." Written by Nicola Smith Edited by Andrew Beatty euobserver.com