January 16 marks the twentieth anniversary of “Desert Storm”, a massive American bombardment against the Iraqi civilian population, mainly around Baghdad the Iraqi capital. The bombing consisted of more than 100,000 sorties dropping more than 85,500 tonnes of bombs. It was the precursor to the the first American lead invasion of Iraq. After this first invasion the people of Iraq suffered more than 10 years of American lead economic sanctions, during which it is estimated that over 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of these sanctions. This was followed by Operation “Southern Watch” which began in August 1992, operation “Vigilant Warrior" began 1994, then “Desert Strike, 1996 which expanded the “no-fly zone over parts of Northern Iraq, then of course there was operation “Desert Fox” which was a 4 day bombing campaign that started on December 16 1998.
It is estimated that between 1992 and 2001, 2 years before the so called war on Iraq is supposed to have started, American and allied pilots flew over Southern Iraq some 153,000 times. The Americans have never stopped military operations in Iraqi over the last 20 years and have been meddling in Iraqi internal affairs since they helped put Saddam Hussein in power in 1963. That is 48 years of the Iraqi people have been suffering because of American Imperialism. So don't accept the myth that is peddled that the Iraq war is heading for its 8th anniversary, it is 48 years of American meddling of which 20 years has been brutal military oppression.
They are still there, still exerting their military might on the Iraqi people. Think of a generation growing up their entire lives spent under these conditions, will they have any love of the Western world? The people of Iraq must be allowed to determine the future of their own country without the interference of Western Imperialism lead by the American military machine. The Iraqi people have suffered a brutal hell because of US policy through four different US Presidents, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Obama. The Iraqi people have suffered more than enough, they have the right to SELF determination, not forced to live their lives according to some Western ideology.
