THE FIRE THIS TIME - TARGETING ANIMALS

One of the lesser reported and thus lesser known aspects of the impact of sanctions has been the tremendous destruction of the animal wealth of Iraq. Sanctions have repeatedly been used to withhold essential animal vaccines from entering the country on the spurious grounds that these could be used in the production of 'weapons-of-mass-destruction.' The fact that all items entering Iraq are carefully vetted and distributed to end-users by a team of hundreds of supervising UN workers in the country is rarely acknowledged by the various spokespeople in the US and UK governments.

The lack of vaccines has resulted in a massive outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease that has ravaged the stocks of sheep and cattle. This was devastating for the Iraqi diet at a time when meat, milk and proteins were extremely scarce.

I have seen an alleged Pentagon policy document that sets out various methods of attacking the animal wealth of target countries. I can not, however, vouch for its' authenticity. This document specifically listed the various ways in which such aims could be achieved; chief among them was the deliberate impeding of vaccine supplies.

In 1996, the weapons inspection team, UNSCOM, destroyed and concrete sealed the Al Dora facility North of Baghdad. Iraq claims that this was their only Foot and Mouth vaccine production plant. During my visit to Iraq in 1999 we went to see the plant, but were accompanied by unusually high Iraqi security. However, we were shown many photographs and documents of the plant's activities that appeared to be genuine. UNSCOM claimed that the plant had been, and was, capable of producing biological weapons. On my return to England I contacted former UNSCOM member Ewan Buchanon, who told me the following:

"We visited the Al Dora Foot and Mouth vaccine factory many times. In 1995 the Iraqis declared its' existence after repeated denials, and admitted that the facility had in fact been converted prior to the Gulf War to make Botulinum Toxin. Originally it was indeed a Foot and Mouth vaccine plant, but it was taken over by the Iraqi Military Industrial Corporation and converted to toxin production. In 1992 the Iraqis attempted to re-convert the plant back to Foot and Mouth vaccine production. They failed to do this successfully, and then closed the plant down. When they admitted its' purpose to UNSCOM in 1995, they pointed out 28 pieces of equipment that were used in toxin production. These were then destroyed by the Iraqis in 1996, under UNSCOM supervision. UNSCOM subsequently sent a letter to the UN Security Council to confirm this train of events."

Iraq's Director General of Veterinary Services, Dr. Fadil Ahbess, denied UNSCOM’s assertions, and had written a letter of complaint to former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. He later told journalist Felicity Arbuthnott that he intended to take the case to the International Court in The Hague, but much controversy still surrounds the Al Dora plant.

A more direct approach to the destruction of Iraq's capacity to feed itself came to light in May 1999, when reports of the specific bombing of animal herds first emerged. A selection of photos from one of these attacks follows below. The US and UK governments have since claimed pilot error and/or insufficient target data as the reasons for these attacks. But having consistently stated their high-technology capability throughout the Gulf war, and during the ten years of bombing that have followed, this begs a very serious question: if pilots can not distinguish between a flock of sheep and an Iraqi radar station now, how were they able to do so in 1991? The answer to such a question is of little comfort to those civilians on the ground.

The following four photos, were taken by British freelance
journalist Felicity Arbuthnott in May 1999. They are copyright free.

	On 30th April 1999, in the Bashiqa area of Iraq, near Mosul, this flock of sheep and its' attendant shepherds were bombed by a US or UK plane. 6 people were killed, including four children aged between 6 and 13. Eyewitnesses confirmed that the plane made two passes.
Close up of sheep from flock above. There were a total of seven attacks on flocks of sheep in the year May 1999 to May 2000. Recall former British Minster of Defence George Robertson's remark made in 1999: "We have to continue making these air strikes in order to carry on with our humanitarian work."
	This shows the valley in which the attack took place. There are no known military sites in the area. Another flock was attacked near here on May 12th 1999. 14 people died, 22 were injured, and 300 sheep were killed. The UN Security Section in Baghdad confirmed both attacks. Members of the UN and the Middle East Council of Churches go immediately to all sites to make verification, and produce a yearly report, yet the British Foreign Office claims it is not possible to verify the bombings.
Portable water canister at the scene reveals pock marks from bullets and / or shell fragments

One of the most disturbing facets of the animal health situation in Iraq is the widespread infestation of Screw Worm Fly. The fly, which is NOT native to the Middle East, but to South and Central America, was first reported in a suburb of Baghdad in September 1996, and spread extremely rapidly throughout the country. During my interview with Dr. Fadil Ahbess in April 1999, he stated the following:

"It appeared in the heart of the capital Baghdad and spread to the other provinces. It was just like a fire; within a few weeks it involved 13 provinces out of 15. The fly infested 65,000 of all kinds of animals and more than 20 persons. [....] We believe that the infestation is mechanically transferred, for various reasons. First, infestation appeared in the centre of the country, then spread from the centre to the borders. If it came from our neighbours the infestation would have started at the borders and [spread] down to the centre. Secondly, Iraq did not import any live animals during the whole time of the embargo."

Dr. Ahbess was adamant that the fly had come into the country by mechanical means, but stopped short of implying that this was a deliberate measure. Screw Worm fly can not live on corpses, so the infestation may have travelled in via animal smuggling, or other means. It is worth noting that Libya, another country where the fly is not native, experienced an outbreak in 1989, during a period of particularly strained relations with the US. It is also worth noting that the alleged Pentagon document listed deliberate disease infestation as another means of targeting animal wealth. It is also pertinent that on the 20th of August 1998, the US bombed the El Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Sudan, claiming that it manufactured biological weapons material. The owner of the plant denied this, and is intending to take the US government to court. The El Shifa plant was the only facility in the Middle East that had a contract to produce Foot and Mouth and Screw Worm vaccines for Iraq.

The fly reproduces by laying eggs in the orifices or wounds of the animal. The eggs hatch within two to three weeks, and the maggots proceed to eat their way out. This in turn attracts more flies to the open wound, where they lay more eggs. Most animals die as a result of being eaten away from the inside, a process that can take as little as four days. Other infections kill the rest.

The following video captures were made by Grant Wakefield, April 1999
from photographs taken in Iraq by the governments' veterinary services.


Cow with Screw Worm infestation	Cow with Screw Worm infestation

Dog with Screw Worm infestation	Unidentified animal with Screw Worm infestation, probably sheep or goat

Unidentified animal with Screw Worm infestation	Cow with Screw Worm infestation

The Screw Worm fly