An estimated 151,000 to 1,033,000 Iraqis died in the first three to five years of conflict. In total, the war caused at least one hundred thousand civilian deaths, as well as tens of thousands of military deaths (see estimates below). Many deaths occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. Subsequently, the War in Iraq of 2013 to 2017, which is considered a domino effect of the invasion and occupation, caused at least 155,000 deaths, in addition to the displacement of more than 3.3 million people within the country -Wikipedia
by Raj Gonsalkorale
The cruelty meted out to Ukraine’s people by the Russians cannot be justified by any yardstick. Much has been written about the war and the Russian onslaught, this article is not written to add to the wide coverage this event has already got and is till getting. The suffering of the Ukrainian people is abominable, and the Russian aggressors deserve total condemnation by all peace-loving people of the world.
That said, it is important to consider whether similar aggressions by other nations have received the almost daily and even hourly media coverage that this aggression is receiving particularly in the Western media. This is not to say the plight of Ukrainians should not be highlighted to the world. It must and the world must be thankful it is being highlighted.
One cannot but draw a comparison regarding aggression by the USA, UK and Australia against innocent Iraqi’s on the pretext of looking for nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in 2003. Innocent Iraqi’s were not fortunate enough for the rest of the world to witness their plight from the living rooms of a wide TV audience as is happening with the Ukraine situation. Western powers invaded Iraq and hence it was not news to be aired to their audiences. A justification was that a cruel dictator had to be removed even if, in the process, it killed hundreds and thousands of innocent people.
The following is cited from Wikipedia to remind readers who may have a faltering memory of the events surrounding the Iraqi war. Quote “an estimated 151,000 to 1,033,000 Iraqis died in the first three to five years of conflict. In total, the war caused at least one hundred thousand civilian deaths, as well as tens of thousands of military deaths (see estimates below). The majority of deaths occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. Subsequently, the War in Iraq of 2013 to 2017, which is considered a domino effect of the invasion and occupation, caused at least 155,000 deaths, in addition to the displacement of more than 3.3 million people within the country. The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 that began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States–led coalition which overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011. The United States became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, and the insurgency and many dimensions of the armed conflict continue today. The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration's War on Terror following the September 11 attacks, despite there being no connection between the attacks and Iraq. In October 2002, Congress granted President Bush the power to decide whether to launch any military attack in Iraq. The Iraq War began on 20 March 2003, when the US, joined by the UK, Australia, and Poland, launched a "shock and awe" bombing campaign.
Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed as coalition forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Ba'athist government; Saddam Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year and executed three years later.
The power vacuum following Saddam's demise and mismanagement by the Coalition Provisional Authority led to widespread civil war between Shias and Sunnis, as well as a lengthy insurgency against coalition forces. Many of the violent insurgent groups were supported by Iran or al-Qaeda in Iraq, with Iran giving support for predominantly Shia militias battling Al-Qaeda and other Sunni groups. The United States responded with a build-up of 170,000 troops in 2007. This build-up gave greater control to Iraq's government and military, and was judged a success by many. In 2008, President Bush agreed to a withdrawal of all US combat troops from Iraq. The withdrawal was completed under President Barack Obama in December 2011.
The United States based its rationale for the invasion on claims that Iraq had a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program and posed a threat to the United States and its allies. Additionally, some US officials falsely accused Saddam of harbouring and supporting al-Qaeda. In 2004, the 9/11 Commission concluded there was no evidence of any relationship between Saddam's regime and al-Qaeda. No stockpiles of WMDs or active WMD program were ever found in Iraq. Bush administration officials made numerous claims about a purported Saddam–al-Qaeda relationship and WMDs that were based on sketchy evidence rejected by intelligence officials. The rationale for war faced heavy criticism both domestically and internationally. Kofi Annan, then the Secretary-General of the United Nations, called the invasion illegal under international law, as it violated the UN Charter. The 2016 Chilcot Report, a British inquiry into the United Kingdom's decision to go to war, concluded that not every peaceful alternative had been examined, that the UK and US had undermined the United Nations Security Council in the process of declaring war, that the process of identification for a legal basis of war was "far from satisfactory", and that, taken together, the war was unnecessary. When interrogated by the FBI, Saddam Hussein confirmed that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction prior to the US invasion” unquote
On 5 November 2006, Saddam Hussein was convicted by an Iraqi court of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'a and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on 30th December 2006. No such charges were brought against the leaders who invaded Iraq on false pretenses and killed hundreds and thousands of innocent people in the process.
There have been many invasions and wars from time immemorial. The sovereignty of nations has been violated and innocent people in their millions have died in the hands of the invaders and the defenders. Homes, livelihoods, families have been destroyed and human beings have heaped havoc on fellow human beings showing no sympathy or empathy on fellow human beings. The selectivity of reporting and the sensationalisation of events have been even more galling as what is newsworthy appears to have been racially motivated and driven.
Collectively the number of innocent people who died in the recent conflicts in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan very likely exceeds 1 million people.
Wikipedia estimates of the total number of deaths in the Syrian Civil War, by opposition activist groups, to be between 494,438 and about 606,000 as of June 2021.
The Brown University’s Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs (https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human) states that quote, “at least 929,000 people have been killed by direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan.
The number of people who have been wounded or have fallen ill because of the conflicts is far higher, as is the number of civilians who have died indirectly as a result of the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure and environmental contamination, among other war-related problems. Thousands of United States service members have died in combat, as have thousands of civilian contractors. Many have died later on from injuries and illnesses sustained in the war zones.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and contractors have been wounded and are living with disabilities and war-related illnesses. Allied security forces have also suffered significant casualties, as have opposition forces. Far more of the people killed have been civilians. More than 387,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting since 2001.
Millions of people living in the war zones have also been displaced by war. The U.S. post-9/11 wars have forcibly displaced at least 38 million people in and from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya, and Syria. This number exceeds the total displaced by every war since 1900, except World War II” unquote.
World war 2 killed more than 70 million people. The number displaced probably runs into many times this number.
No doubt there will be many other research publications that will add to these numbers. All these however will record the number of lives lost and not the number or cost of families destroyed, displaced, homes turned into rubble and the end to the dreams of millions of men, women, and children who only would have wanted to live normal lives on this planet.
Mans inhumanity to man is immeasurable. There is no end in sight.
Ukraine is sadly another episode in this inhumanity. It is not the first and it will not be the last. All the pontificating nations will continue to do so in international fora, and the media will air the horrors inflicted on human beings, often selectively, and the fortunate ones in the world will keep watching these from the comfort of their living rooms. The international bodies like the United Nations will debate these invasions and will remain impotent, unable to do anything to stop the killings and the destruction until the big powers involved decide to call a halt to these when whatever objectives they had in invading the sovereignty of a nation have been achieved.
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