A year after the US-led massacre in the Gulf, GEOFF RYAN reviews the harsh realities of what the Gulf war meant for the peoples of the Middle East. He goes on to look at the aftermath of the war - the fate of the peoples of Iraq and Yemen, and the ongoing struggle of the Kurdish nation. In our next issue, the second part of this article will look at the Middle East peace conference, particularly in relation to the Palestinians' fight for independence, and conclude with an assessment of the future for the peoples of the region. ON THE night of 16-17 January the US airforce launched the most savage aerial bombardment in the history of humanity. For 40 days the people of Iraq were subject to ever more savage bombing attacks.
Despite all the talk of 'surgical strikes' only 7 percent raids used so-called 'Smart' bombs. So 93 percent of bombs killed or maimed who ever happened to be in the vicinity. The cording to the Pentagon military 200,000 civilians killed.
"Military dead Since the Pentagon constantly stressed the 'military' nature of their targets 200,000 civilian deaths nate. The his maprily - 881 MIS of the 'military' dead were young conscripts forced to pay the price for Saddam's adventure in Kuwait.
These figures only relate to those killed in the war to 'liberate Kuwait. Perhaps another 100,000 died during the uprisings against Saddam in the South of Iraq and Kurdistan.
similar number of children will die due to illnesses related to lack of food, sanitation and unclean water -direct result of the destruction of Iraq In the West the war has been claimed as a total success with few victims - over halt a million dead Iraqis or Kurds apparenty do not count. This sives the lie to the claim that the war was against Saddam, not the Iraqi people.
And when Saddam had been forced to surrender in Kuwait, the much vaunted 'New World Order' stood by while Saddam turned his elite troops - who had cynically been spared by the 'allies' against the people of Iraq and Kurdistan, who Bately bel support comin Bush would support them New Hitler Despite all the rhetoric about Saddam being 'the new Hitler' Bush and Major preferred a weakened - but stable - Iraq under Saddam to the threat any successful rebellion would pose to imperialism. The Saudi regime certainly would not appde radica Shia currents ncluded radica And President Ozal of Turkey recognised the inspiration a •successful uprising in Iraqiheld Kurdistan would be for The result of these policies is that Saddam is now stronger than ever inside Iraq, however much he may nave weakened as a regional power.
ny opposition is hopelessi digious berets and and ivide political machinations of other states -particularly Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. They back whichever organisation hap pens to best serve their own -differing - interests.
It is not just the people of Iraq and Kurdistan who have been made to pay for Bush's war. Yemen has suffered for daring to vote against the war in the UN Security Council • even though they were clearly opposed to Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. And again it is not simply the government but the whole Yemeni people who are being punished.
A million Yemenis were expelled from Saudi Arabia, increasing the population of Yemen y one twelfth overNot only have the Yemenis had to absorb such a massive increase in population, but they have had to do so on drastically reduced incomes. The million Yemenis in Saudi Arabia sent large amounts of money home to their families.
Collapse
Now that money has gone and their families and the state have to support them. The entire infra-structure of the alstate poo collapsed. state Three quarters of the teachers in the former North Yemen were forgners, mainly Egyptian ey have all been withdraw as punishment.
Water services cannot be maintained leading to the spread of diseases such as cholera. As a result the health services too have come under enormous strains. There is a de facto imperialist boycott of Yemen, supported by the client regimes of the Gulf oil states audi Arabia and Kuwait have cut off all aid, massively weakening the already fragile economy, it had already been hit by the withdrawal of Soviet and East European aid. The tourist industry has totally collapsed, further exacerbating the widespread destitution.
According to Bush the 'New ¿orld Order was suppose to bring lemocracy to the Mid die East. Yet ironically the only state in the region that was taking any steps towards democracy was 'Democracy in the 'New World carry out Washington's dictates or an entire people will suffer the consequences.
Carnage
As a result of the Gulf War over 4 million people were forcibly displaced - primarily Palestinians, Yemenis and Kurds. The people of Jordan -who also opposed Bush's war -have been particularly affected, with a larse inhux or raics tinians and Iraqis fleeing the carnage.
Washington soon patched up its quarrel with Jordan's King Hussein - it understood that he only supported Saddam order to preserve his throne. But aid has been renewed solely in order to allow the monarch to maintain his reactionary regime.
After the Yemen, it has been the tinians and Kurds who have borne the brunt of the World Order: One year after the emotional scenes of an entire people rising up against Saddam and then bein; driven into the mountains to di and cold, the Kurdish people in Iraqare facing another winter of death.
Saddam's economic blockade has provoked criticism but no action. The long drawn out talks in Baghdad between Saddam and Kurdish Democratic Party leader Barzani are no closer to agreeing any Kurdish autonomy • While imperialism may welcome an autonomous policed by barzanı ana FUR rader Talabani (if they can ever patch up their alterences/ there would be strict limits. The over Kurdish oil and large areas of Southern Kurdistan would remain under Iraqi control.
The West has no intention of supporting an independent Kurdish state. All they can offer is Jeffrey Archer struggling through the snow of Iraqi KurSaddam: still in charge in Baghdad distan, trying to find out what has happened to the money from his 'Simple Truth' concert.
But even charity has its limits. Archer deliberately excluded most radical groups - particularly those who wanted to raise the issue of the repression of the Kurds in President Ozal of Turkey strongest supporters of the US war and can carry out attacks on the Kurdish population without Washington or London. The the HEP (Popula People's Party) Vedat Aydir was murdered in Diyarbakir -in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan At his funeral, on July 10, the police and army machinethe August Turkish planes and soldiers attacked Kurdish villages in İragi Kurdistan, killing those mention violation of supposedly sovereign frontiers provoked no protest from imperialist governments. price the people of Kurdistan must Pis death at the hands of Saddam and Ozal's thugs or death from cold and starvation.
However, the Kurds fought back and in the October elections the HEP won 22 out of 27 Kurdish celebrated throughout the whole of Kurdistan The PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) continues to wage its guerrilla war in Kurdistan. No. 14 Jan. 18, 1992
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