In 1988, former leader Saddam Hussein gassed his own people in the city of Halabja. For the U.S. he was then seen as a ‘good boy’.Today, the power that helped Saddam build the same chemical weapons he dropped on Halabja is reported to be carrying out a repeat of his crimes. That is the impression several Iraqi members of parliament had following a fact finding mission of the Sadr City in Baghdad which the U.S. occupation troops have been bombarding and encircling for weeks.
“The aerial bombardment and military operations the U.S. is carrying out in Sadr city are similar to what happened in Halabja,” Iraqi member of parliament Falah Hassan said.
| Except for the poison gas. And the murder of women and children. Other than that ... |
Sadr City is a warren of mainly one-story houses, most of them shabby and dilapidated. Iraqi demographers say the city is even more densely populated in terms of the number of people per square kilometer than the city of Gaza in Palestine.
Last weekÂ’s count by the Sadr Movement whose military wing the Mahdi Army is resisting U.S. occupation put the number of civilians killed at more than 800. The U.S. only speaks of killing armed men.
Iraqi legislators who visited the city said they found no gunmen on the streets and narrow lanes of Saddam City. Nope, not a one, but we did see fluffy bunnies and baby ducks.
Kurdish legislators who were on the visit also made parallels between what Saddam did in Halabja and what the U.S. is currently doing in Saddam City. The Kurdish deputies spoke on the strict condition of anonymity.
“The current situation in Saddam City is no less tragic than when Halabja was gassed as those that are being targeted and killed (by U.S. fire) are innocent people,” said Hassan who had arranged for the deputies to visit the city.