The fog of war and the children of Fallujah
It reported today that many of Fallujah’s children are sick – infants have chronic deformities; multiple fingers and toes, tumours, one baby was even born with three heads. Only six years ago the Americans fought a major offensive against Falluja’s insurgents and Iraqis are now blaming the highly sophisticated weaponry that the US forces used (accusations include white phosphorus and depleted uranium) and the toxic waste they left behind. Getting doctors to speak out about what they are dealing with is difficult; most are working in the town’s brand new hospital funded by the America dollar. It is uncomfortable, almost unbelievable that our allies in Iraq may have poisoned the very people they claimed they were helping. However it is not surprising.
We all know about the legendary and deliberate cruelty of the Japanese in Pacific war, their use of poison and toxic chemicals to snuff out the Chinese – atrocity was heaped on atrocity. Focusing on the enemy’s heinous crimes underlined the importance of our victory in the Second World War. We were the goodies; they were the badies. But in reality when two forces are trying to obliterate each other, good is often not discernible from bad – it is all just ugly. Need I mention Dresden? So let’s not pretend that our allies and indeed our forces aren’t capable of evil – intentional or not.
Recently I wrote about the Late Secretary of State Robert McNamara who retrospectively agreed that it was under his watch Agent Orange was used against the Vietnamese in the 1960s. This chemical not only killed the vegetation it also gave the locals a plethora of killer diseases and maimed new born babies. McNamara could not remember ordering the use of Agent Orange, that decision got lost in ‘the fog of war.’ I suspect that in the long run ‘the fog of war’ will be the excuse the US roll out for the collateral damage in Fallujah. Small consolation for the Iraqi families with sick children.
Tessa Dunlop
March 5th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
another sad sad story. land mines…chemicals…children…a reality that is created and defended by people like Blair in his ivory tower as he justifies his warring actions against a backdrop of WW2 which like you say was a war against a true evil but a wholly uncommon situation.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Great article. I remember in McNamara’s ‘Fog of War’ the claim that he did not authorise the use of agent orange. It must have got lost as you claim…if it isn’t the fog of war excuse to justify horror and atrocity then presumably it is that other rather tiresome and unsatisfactory adage that ‘the ends justifies the means’.
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