– Truth About Geneva Conventions Violations, More

Institute for Public Accuracy
915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org
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Monday, March 24, 2003

Interviews Available
* Geneva Convention * Water Supply
* Following Orders * ‘Fragging’

MARJORIE COHN, marjorie@tjsl.edu
A professor of law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, Cohn said today: “While the U.S. government has objected to Iraq broadcasting photos of U.S. POWs, the U.S. government has allowed the very same thing…. Photos of Taliban prisoners of war and John Walker Lindh were continually broadcast on U.S. media outlets. The Pentagon is refusing to abide by the Geneva Convention with regards to the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay.”

DENIS HALLIDAY, djhalliday@msn.com
Former head of the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq and former U.N. Assistant Secretary General of the U.N., Halliday today criticized plans for the U.N. Secretary General to be in charge of the oil for food program. He noted the legal obligations of the U.S. to provide water immediately to the people of Basra where the water system is cut off, noting the U.S.
military provides water to fight oil fires.

TOM NAGY, nagy@gwu.edu, http://www.progressive.org/0801issue/nagy0901.html,
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/93.htm
A professor of expert systems at George Washington University, Nagy wrote the article “The Secret Behind the Sanctions: How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq’s Water Supply” for the Progressive magazine. Nagy notes that the Geneva Conventions (Article 54) state that “It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as … drinking water installations…” Nagy has uncovered a Defense Intelligence Agency document written right before the Gulf War which spells out how sanctions would prevent Iraq from supplying clean water to its citizens: “Iraq depends on importing specialized equipment and some chemicals to purify its water supply,” the 1991 document states. “With no domestic sources of both water treatment replacement parts and some essential chemicals, Iraq will continue attempts to circumvent U.N. Sanctions to import these vital commodities. Failing to secure supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of the population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not epidemics, of disease.” Nagy has recently uncovered the Air Force’s Doctrine Document 2-1.2 of May 1998 entitled “Strategic Attack,” which includes an analysis of Desert Storm: “The loss of electricity shut down the capital’s water treatment plants and led to a public health crisis from raw sewage dumped in the Tigris River.” This is under the section entitled “Elements of Effective Operations.”

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

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