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St. Cloud State University
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Iraq sanctions, war, discussed
By Nick Hanson
Published:
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Graphic pictures of mutated malnourished Iraqi children and soon to be cancer infected Gulf War veterans were passed around the silent room.
After viewing “The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm” and participating in an informative discussion in Atwood on Tuesday night, attendees of a debate on the ever-imposing war on Iraq were exposed to unbiased and often shielded information.
“You can’t listen to a speech for 10 minutes without hearing ‘weapons of mass destruction’ 20 times,” said professor Tamrat Tademe, leader of the discussion.
“If you tell a lie often enough, it will become believable,” Tademe said.
In his speech, Tademe pointed out that it is of dire importance to uncover all of the facts about Iraq. He said that war is not a reasonable solution just because Washington says so. Instead, he said it is important to look at both sides of the issue.
“I’m talking about factual stuff to move away from propaganda,” he said.
Issues addressed included: sanctions, radioactive and chemical warfare effects, U.N. opposition and oil driven political standings.
According to the video, the United States has had a love-hate relationship with Saddam Hussein since the 70s. In the past, the U.S. has actually supported his rule for personal political policies.
Tademe said that he does not personally like Hussein, but does not agree on an attack against Iraq.
“I don’t have Saddam Hussein’s picture hanging in my house,” he said.
The video questioned the effectiveness of U.S./U.N. sanctions in Iraq. Because of the sanctions, the economic and social conditions have radically shifted. According to the video, an estimated one to one and a half million Iraqi citizens have died.
“Sanctions don’t work. I do not support such a thing,” sophomore K. Gadala Worloma said.
“No new issues are being raised for an attack. I would not be in support of the war,” Worloma said.
Hal Kimball, 11-year Gulf War veteran, talked about the devastating effects of chemical warfare.
His main opposition to the possible invasion of Iraq is the use of Uranium 238, a radioactive metal. Heavy amounts of the metal were used in various weapons during the Gulf War. Thousands of deaths on both the Iraqi and U.S. fronts have occurred as a direct result.
“The number is now around 12,500 (U.S. Gulf War veterans) who have died as a result of chemical warfare,” Kimball said. “A lot has to do with Uranium 238”.
Nearly all of the victims who were infected didn’t even know about the cancerous impact of the chemical. Kimball showed a picture of unaware U.S. soldiers standing and celebrating around a tank that was destroyed by the poisonous metal.
Kimball’s goal is to inform people of the metal and stop the U.S. from using it in the possible current invasion of Iraq.
“It’s a serious issue that we (U.S.) don’t raise,” Kimball said.
In the video, UNSCOM inspector, Scott Ritter, said that Iraq doesn’t possess the military backing to stand a chance against the U.S. This is due in part to the sanctions. He also added that his experience in Iraq has shown that since the Gulf War, people have had little chance to redeem themselves.
“The speech was informative and good,” said first year student, Kyle Dowzal.
“I impose the war and sanctions. I don’t support invading Iraq,” he said.
Tademe said the most important thing to do is reveal these overlooked issues to the masses of blinded people.
