In article , Donal
wrote:

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..
In article , Donal
wrote:

How many died because sanctions prevented vital drugs reaching Iraqi
hospitals?

Lots. Who was responsible for not complying with the sanctions for PR
reasons? The then Iraqi Govt. Blaming the USA for this is infantile.

Is it?
I can understand that sanctions would prohibit the export of munitions,
various raw materials, industrial goods, and high tech equipment. I don't
understand why medicines should be included in the list of prohibited items.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that it is unusual for a country to be
subjected to sanctions which include medical supplies.

Hmmm. My understanding was that there were restrictions on oil sales as
a sanction for not complying with UN resolutions WRT disclosure/access
for WMD searches, causing a drop in revenue, feeding back into
purported inability to purchase medical supplies et al. I could be
wrong, but I think that's how it played. That's why I said that Iraq
was responsible and there's no doubt they used it for PR purposes. I
regarded it as a crude attempt at moral blackmail.



Did you know that birth defects have risen 10 fold since depleted
uranium
was used by Bush senior?

Cite please. Did *you* know that chemical weapons and the resultant
pollution are proven teratogenic and carcinogenic agents while DU
isn't?

Yes, I know that. However, the increases in birth defects, and cancers,
correlate with the use of DU. They do NOT correlate with Saddam's use of
chemical weapons.

Cite, please. I have seen a report showing that there was an extermely
good correlation with Iraq's use of CW and a huge rise in cancers &
birth defects some years later.

Most of the evidence that is used to support your theory is based on the
radioactivity of depleted uranium. However, DU is an extremely toxic
substance in its own right. Lead and aluminium are bad for you. DU is also
bad for you.

Yes but are they teratogenic? Is DU teratogenic? CW are *known*
teratogens & carcinogens. DU isn't all that toxic, it's a ******* to
machine and burns well, but I wouldn't worry about handling it.

BTW, who says aluminium is bad for you? Except some weak evidence
linking Al oxides with Alzheimers (IIRC) this is just another rumour
put about by the lunatic fringe.

My wife is one of Australia's leading paediatric biochemists,
specialises in genetic disorders.

I get a cup of tea in bed every morning.

Lucky you. I get to design & build elaborate databases for mine so she
can keep track of all her patient data :-(

I suspect you've been following Pilger

I admit that I recognise that name. You'll have to accept my word for the
fact that I am not aware of his significance. I did a Google yesterday, and
I think that I saw his name. It is possible that some of my previous post
used his information.

Pilger is a notorious left-wing conspiracy theorist & liar. He produced
a report blaming the DU munitions used in the Gulf War for a rise in
cancers & birth defects. Only problem was the timing was wrong; there
couldn't have been that effect in the time frame. OTOH the timing was
about perfect for it to have occurred following the use of CW during
the Iraq-Iran war when CW which are known & proven teratogens and
carcinogens were used freely. A fact that Pilger totally ignored as it
didn't support his thesis.

He also, some years ago, managed to blame everyone except the Khmer
Rouge for the massacres in Cambodia following their victory. Etc etc.


.

Cancer and Leukemia rates have also gone through the roof!

True but see above.

Donal, I think you're backing a loser with this line of argument.
Better stick to the lack of WMD and personal observations WRT
'intelligence'.

That isn't fair!

You seem to be suggesting that only the rednecks should be allowed to use
whacko arguements.

The lefties seem to muster at least their fair share. I do my best to
ignore both sides and treat all claims with skepticism.

Whatever, I don't really care. You seem to be falling into the trap of
believing everything bad about the USA in Iraq on the basis that some
of it is true, and that's as big an error as dickheads like Simon who
believe none of it.

Peter Wiley