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Iraq Invasion Will Trigger 'Human Catastrophe,' Report Warns
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Iraq
Invasion Will Trigger 'Human Catastrophe,' Report Warns
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by
George Edmondson
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| WASHINGTON
-- A report to be released today predicts that an invasion of Iraq could lead
to a "human catastrophe" with casualties as high as 250,000 within the first three
months.
"Collateral
Damage: The Health and Environmental Costs of War on Iraq" was prepared largely
by Medact, the British
affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. The U.S.
affiliate, Physicians for Social Responsibility,
also was involved. Most of the estimated casualties would be Iraqi civilians caught
in the bombing, said Bob Schaeffer, a spokesman in Massachusetts for the International
Physicians organization. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for what
the committee called its "considerable service to mankind by spreading authoritative
information and by creating an awareness of the catastrophic consequences of atomic
warfare.''
The study also looks at the impact of an invasion on the public health system
and necessities such as agriculture, water and energy, he said.
"We're saying that there'll be a very large short-term impact and an even more
profound longer-term impact," Schaeffer said. "The report uses the word `human
catastrophe' even if it does not escalate to the level of poison gas, civil war
or nuclear weapons.''
The estimates of casualties, he said, range from a low of 50,000 up to 250,000.
James Snyder, spokesman in Washington for Physicians for Social Responsibility,
said the report utilizes information about likely Iraq invasion scenarios as well
as knowledge gleaned from study of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and U.S. actions
in Somalia and Panama.
Schaeffer said physicians associated with the international organization also
had made some inspection tours, and their findings were factored in.
"The estimates and ranges are based on sound science and previous experience,"
Snyder said.
There has not been much public data on the extent of possible casualties from
an invasion of Iraq.
A number of experts at the Pentagon and elsewhere have discussed the possibility
of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein using human shields and placing military targets
within civilian sites, such as hospitals and schools.
Ibrahim Al-Marashi, an analyst at the Monterey Institute of International Studies
in California who favors an invasion, said such estimates are extremely difficult
because there are so many variables about how a war might unfold.
"The way Saddam would respond is such a wild card in this," he added.
Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
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