Genocide in Iraq ― The Obliteration of a Modern State

The current horrific malaise in the state of Iraq has its roots in the US-led destruction of Iraq in 1991, followed by a decade of harshUS-led international sanctions against the entire Iraqi populationthat killed millions -- one of the most heinous crimes of the 20thcentury. A second "shock and awe" war of aggression on Iraq in 2003enabled the US/UK military occupation that ensued. Though basedon fraudulent pretexts and later admitted as an illegal war by thenSecretary-General Kofi Annan, the UN provided a veneer oflegitimacy to what in effect would be the obliteration of aneffective and functional modern state, redefining its nationalcharacter via the redrafting of state policies and law, evendeliberately sowing seeds that could lead to its future implosion. Volume II of Genocide in Iraq addresses Bremer's introduction ofthe imperialist design for Iraq as part of a wider strategy for theMiddle East. It details the scale of post-2003 destruction andredesign, showing clearly how every step was intended to changeIraq irreversibly to a slave state of extreme neoliberal capitalism.It documents the extent of intentional and ongoing damage as itrelates to killing, torture and displacement, cultural cleansing andgenocide, and ensuing problems in health, child education,psychological well being, malnutrition, child disabilities, child iaborand mortality, as well as drug abuse and the impact on women. Ittracks the divestment and disposal of Iraqi oil. These Nuremberg-level crimes are then reviewed in internationallegal context as the crime of aggression, crimes againsthumanity,and violations of the most basic of human rights, as itrelates to the right of remedy, in the hope of providing guidanceto Iraqi individuals or governments seeking recourse in future.