The stand-out countries post-1990 are Iraq and Afghanistan – Western intervention dramatically REVERSED the major trend of reduction in infant mortality (and in avoidable mortality) in Iraq and First World (Russian and US) intervention BLOCKED the downward trend in Afghanistan. 

The current impacts of (A) incompetent governance (South Asia except for Sri Lanka), (B) continuing violent Western occupation (Iraq and Afghanistan) and (C) reasonable governance (Syria, Iran and Sri Lanka) are reflected in the following “normalized” “2004 under-5 infant mortality”/”2004 population” statistics (see: here ) (noting that about 90% of the infant mortality has been avoidable):  (A) India 2.2 million/1087 million = 0.2%; Pakistan 0.478 million/154.8 million = 0.31%; Bangladesh  0.288 million/139.2 million = 0.21%; (B) IRAQ 0.122 million/28.1 million = 0.43%; Afghanistan 0.359 million/28.6 million = 1.26%;and (C) Syria 0.008 million/18.6 million = 0.04%; Iran 0.05 million/68.8 million = 0.07%; Sri Lanka 0.005 million/20.6 million = 0.02%. 

IF the West had responded rationally in 1990 (although subsequent events have shown that they were simply looking for any “excuse”) then Iraq was on track, despite tyrannical rule by a despotic Saddam Hussein, to perform as well as - or indeed better than - its neighbours Syria and Iran. After 16 years of egregious Anglo-American violence the annual “under-5 infant mortality” in oil-rich Occupied Iraq is 122,000 – as compared to  8,000 for its impoverished but well-administered Arab neighbour Syria; the figure for Occupied Afghanistan is an even more catastrophic 359,000.

The excellent example of Sri Lanka demonstrates that the continuing avoidable mortality holocaust in South Asia is utterly avoidable with a modest annual per capita income of about $1,000, high literacy and good governance - the incompetent governance in South Asia (except for Sri Lanka and the similarly excellent outcome Maldives) surely demands at least the same international censure as applied to Saddam Hussein.

Saddam Hussein is currently on trial before a kangaroo court set up by a puppet government in a violently foreign-occupied country. His widely-reported crimes connected with the Iran-Iraq War, the invasion of Kuwait and horrendous internal repression most certainly deserve arraignment before the impartiality of the International Criminal Court. However in terms of “infant mortality” Saddam Hussein’s pre-1990 record is comparable with that of his high-achieving neighbours. In contrast, the impact of the UK-US-led Coalition countries on Iraqi (and Afghan) infant mortality and avoidable mortality has been catastrophic and in gross violation of the Geneva Conventions (see MWC News and here  ). Bush, Blair, Dr Rice (Dr Death) and other Coalition leaders and top officials should ALSO be arraigned before the International Criminal Court for gross, continuing war crimes and “passive genocide” against helpless civilians. 

The Coalition invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan constitute immense crimes against humanity as revealed by the above mortality statistics. The widely-speculated possible invasions of Syria (already subject to illegal occupation by Israel) and of Iran will utterly trash the sustained and exemplary record of these poor countries towards improved life expectancy and quality of life for their citizens – as has already happened in Occupied Afghanistan and Sanctions-crippled Occupied Iraq as outlined above. Peace is the only way. Decent people around the world are obliged to INFORM OTHERS and to ACT ETHICALLY by exercising “free market choice” through avoiding (where possible) goods and services of the war criminal Coalition.

=================

Dr Gideon Polya,  MWC News Chief political editor, published some 130 works in a 4 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds" (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London, 2003), and is currently writing a book on global mortality ---

Contact Dr.Polya By E-mail

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