While US plans for the production of Gulf War II rumble on relentlessly, the Danish campaign to abolish the sanctions against Iraq was given a huge boost by the visit of Professor Tom Nagy at the start of June. Here, Nagy presented unshakeable documentation for how the sanctions have been applied to ban the import of water purification equipment and chemicals, thus provoking epidemics of diseases such as cholera, hepatitis and typhoid fever.

Nagy’s current position is Associate Professor in the school of business and public management at George Washington University, and has previously held full-time research posts in the area of public health.

While searching on the Pentagon’s Gulflink site for data that might shed some light on Gulf syndrome, Professor Nagy almost accidentally entered the search term “water”, and was horrified by one of the reports he turned up. Headed “Iraq water treatment vulnerabilities” and dated January 1991, the Defense Intelligence Agency report details the difficulties the civilian population of Iraq were predicted to experience in finding potable water in the presence of restrictions on the import of water purification equipment and chemicals.

Like a warder doing his rounds to ensure that all doors are securely locked, the report addresses, point by point, the various sources of water that might be considered, explaining why each one is precluded:

• Most of Iraq’s water supply “is heavily mineralized and frequently brackish to saline.”
• “Precipitation occurs in Iraq during the winter and spring, but it falls primarily in the northern mountains.”
• Iraq's rivers "contain biological materials, pollutants, and are laden with bacteria.”

The document states: “Unless water treatment supplies are exempted from the UN sanctions for humanitarian reasons, no adequate solution exists for Iraq's water purification dilemma ...” And it explicitly presents the expected consequences for the civilian population: “Unless the water is purified with chlorine, epidemics of such diseases as cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid could occur.”

A series of six related reports document the degradation of the Iraqi water supply that took place in the first half of 1991. Predictions were made of outbreaks or epidemics of hepatitis and cholera, and the fulfillment of these predictions was subsequently documented in detail.

In an article published in The Progressive magazine, Nagy quoted Representative Tony Hall, Democrat of Ohio, who wrote to then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, expressing his concern about blocks and holds placed on contracts for import of water purification equipment and chemicals in the UN Security Council. Holds on seventeen out of eighteen contracts were placed by the United States, and the last was placed by the United Kingdom.

Professor Nagy’s article, “The Secret Behind the Sanctions”, has been nominated by Project Censored as one of the top ten censored stories of the year 2001. In contrast, Nagy was overwhelmed by the level of attention he received in the Danish media. Two national newspapers and one of the foremost current affairs programs on national radio lined up for in-depth interviews.

And the reception from the Danish public was equally powerful. The audience at a meeting entitled “Stop the Cholera War”, held at Copenhagen University on June 4, was by turns curious, appalled, moved, and many of those present were ultimately inspired to participate in an ongoing campaign to abolish the sanctions.

Nagy’s presentation was remarkably up-beat, culminating in a patriotic proposal that the US make atonement for its inhumane policies of the past by investing in a global clean water project: "According to the World Health Organization, 2.3 million children under the age of five are dying every year as a result of water-borne diseases. This could be globally prevented for the sum of nine billion dollars annually. The United States should pay this sum as a memorial to the children who have died in Iraq, and as a sign of remorse." This measure, he argued, would likely be more valuable in countering terrorism than any increase in military expenditure.

The next day was Constitution Day, on which Danes traditionally take a half day off to listen to elected representatives making cheerful speeches about the thriving state of Danish democracy. First stop for Nagy was the Christiansborg Peace Watch, which has been standing in protest outside the Danish house of parliament every day since Denmark entered the War on Terrorism on October 19 last year. An interview for the radio was followed by a photo session for one of the newspapers and a train ride to the provincial capital of Odense, for a Constitution Day meeting with a distinctly different flavor.

Coverage in the newspapers and on radio over the next weekend and into the following week was very gratifying for the visiting professor. A double-page spread appeared in the Sunday edition of the daily Politiken, under the heading: “When Water is a Weapon”. The Monday interview in the independent intellectual broadsheet, Information, bore the heading: “US Deliberately Lets Children Die”.

A follow-up article in Information, under the title “Denmark Shuts Its Eyes”, presented the responses of the foreign policy spokespersons of a range of Danish political parties. Perhaps most significantly, the press secretary of the Conservative Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the minister was unable to make a statement, as the ministry was unaware of documentation for the assertion that the United States has banned the import of water purification equipment.

Clearly, the Danish Committee for Peace and Development in Iraq has a significant level of ignorance to address. But with the success of Tom Nagy’s visit behind it, the committee is confident that an October visit from former UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Hans-Christof von Sponeck, will do much to create enlightenment.

Meanwhile, Professor Nagy has returned to Washington more than content with a level of media coverage that currently seems almost unimaginable within the United States. But perhaps it is still possible that he will be recognized as a prophet in his own land. Norbert Payne is a technical writer who regularly does logistical support in the field, including water supply and purification in refugee camps, for a medical NGO.

Coilín ÓhAiseadha is a medical doctor with clinical experience in Northern Ireland. Currently self-employed as a full-time freelance translator. Contact: Coilín ÓhAiseadha aat2002@mail.dk

Both authors are Irish, but living in Copenhagen, Denmark, and active members of the Peace Watch, which has stood in protest outside the Danish house of parliament since Denmark entered the War on Terrorism, on October 19, 2001.

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