We may pay a high price for Iraq
The Iraq war was not accidental, but was both unlawful and reckless. So far the international media has only attempted to put estimated dollar costs on the war in so far as it impinged on the economies of the perpetrator countries, mainly the US, Britain, Australia, Spain, Italy, and those others listed as the 'coalition of the willing'.
Some of these coalition members, notably Ireland, may even have managed, so far, to make a small profit out of this war. Others such as Spain and Australia had hoped also to cash in on their complicity, but suffered serious losses in the bombings in Madrid and Bali.
The day of reckoning for the Iraq war of 2003 may be many years, even decades, from now. Ireland supplied beef to feed the Iraqi army during the Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s. It was never paid for this and the Government, on behalf of the taxpayer, decided to write off well over €100 million of this bill in 2003.
Libyan involvement in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 106 in 1988 over Lockerbie led to an agreement on compensation in 2003 of about $10m for each of the 270 victims.
The cost of the compensation package for the Iraq war will be many times the Libyan figure. The number of fatal victims in the war has already exceeded 100,000, and the number of injured may be as high as one million Iraqis.
If calculated at $10 million per victim, then the compensation or reparations due to the victims in Iraq would amount to $10 billion.
This does not include structural damage or damage to infrastructure and the Iraqi economy, which is likely to exceed the financial cost of the human losses; neither does it include deaths and illnesses due indirectly to the war.
About 40 countries were involved in the 'coalition of the willing'. The question of proportionality will arise. Apportioning blame on a percentage basis would give approximate calculations of responsibility and liability as follows:
US 70%, based on leadership, troop deployment and military hardware.
Britain 10%, based on its direct military involvement.
Other troop-contributing countries 12% to be divided proportionately between them on the basis of their level of military involvement.
Group of countries that provided logistic support, including landing and overflight facilities 8%.
Within this last group Ireland has been one of the most complicit due to the fact that approximately 70% of all US troops involved in the Iraq war passed through Shannon airport.
If Ireland's share of financial responsibility for reparations to Iraq were to be calculated at a modest 0.5%, this could amount to something like $100 billion dollars. Killing people unlawfully and destroying their towns is an expensive business, and a bad business.
While no money can compensate for the loss of human life, all countries involved in this unlawful war should be forced to pay reparations.
Happy New Year? Not in Iraq for many years to come.
Edward Horgan
Newtown
Castletroy
Limerick.
