Educational Media Reviews Online

The Persian Gulf War ended in 1991. Sanctions imposed on Iraq by the UN as a consequence of that war have denied its people sufficient access to food, medicine and other essentials. Iraqi society is falling apart, as poverty and crime are on the increase and the nation’s infrastructure collapses. Those who suffer most are the children, who are frequently malnourished, and often denied the drugs necessary to treat their illnesses. This film advocates the removal of sanctions, and examines the devastating effect they have had on Iraq and its children.

Since the war, maintenance of the sanctions has been the responsibility of the UN Security Council, which is frequently dominated by the U.S. and it’s ally Great Britain. Both maintain that sanctions are intended to keep Iraq from rebuilding its military, and they’ve used them to denied it access to all goods and services that might have a military use, even when such a possibility is remote. In 1996 the Security Council started the “Oil for Food” program, which was to allow Iraq to sell a certain amount of its oil to buy food and other necessities. Since then however, malnutrition and drug shortages have continued unabated, and the U.S. and Britain have kept the country from buying the spare parts it needs to rebuild its oil industry, electrical power grid and water and sewage facilities. As a consequence Iraqi society is crumbling, and its people suffer much. Since the imposition of sanctions, roughly a decade ago, the World Health Organization has estimated that one half million children have died in Iraq as a result. Crime, unemployment, mental illness and family break-ups have all increased dramatically.

The U.S. and Britain claim that sanctions are aimed at the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, and not the Iraqi people. Nevertheless it is the people who suffer, while he and his friends live in luxury by using the country’s remaining resources to circumvent the sanctions. Ironically, it was the U.S. and Britain that originally helped to put Hussein in power, and keep him there, while at the same time ignoring his many crimes. They also sold him much of the military equipment he used to wage the Gulf War. Even at the end of the war when the Iraqi people rose up against him, the U.S. and Britain not only failed to support the rebels, but instead aided Saddam’s troops in defeating them. Therefore the imposition of sanctions has proven to be not only cruel, but also pointless and contradictory.

This is a powerful and moving film. Many of its contentions will undoubtedly be controversial, but it vividly conveys the suffering of the Iraqi people, the disintegration of their society, and the need for the outside world to do something about it. The film’s audio, video and editing are good. Its writer/producer, John Pilger, provides an effective and informative narration. Interviews are either in English or translated into that language by voiceover. It is suitable for high school, undergraduate or graduate students. Those studying Middle Eastern Affairs or History, American Foreign Policy, or the Gulf War will find it the most useful.

Highly Recommended