TOTAL INFORMATION ANALYSIS

Monday, November 10, 2003

From Michel Chossudovsky's Oct. 28 essay, Who was behind the Attack on the Red Cross in Baghdad?

Reading between the lines of the ICRC statement and the various press reports, there are indications, although no official evidence, that Red Cross vehicles were targeted by Coalition forces. As mentioned earlier, Iraqi forces had no reason to target ambulances which were collaborating with Iraqi health officials.

The ICRC was careful not to openly accuse US forces:

" The ICRC said it was not known whether the convoy had been deliberately attacked or had been caught up in crossfire between American and Iraqi forces." (Independent, 10 April 2003)

According to Roland Huguenin-Benjamin, of the Red Cross mission in Baghdad:

'Casualties have been seen on the roads, on some bridges and there was no immediate possibility of evacuating them, for the reason that there was immediate fire as soon as anybody was trying to approach. The problem is the lack of respect for ambulances and respect for casualties - to give allow a minimum of security for people to be evacuated.'" (Ibid, emphasis added)

. . . By reducing the ICRC's presence, it also undermined the implementation of the ICRC's mandate in Iraq under the Geneva Convention. . .

Under its mandate, the ICRC "visits to prisoners are aimed at preventing or putting an end to disappearances, extra-judicial killings, torture and ill-treatment, and improving conditions of detention," in accordance with the Geneva Convention

| Posted at 02:02 | PERMA-LINK |

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