Congenital anomalies catastrophe in Iraq; sinister heritage of American war

Pars Today- Despite the lapse of over two decades from the American military occupation of Iraq, people of the country, especially children, are facing the consequences of occupation.

According to Pars Today, Iraq still has the highest mortality rate of the children under the age of 5 and birth defects in West Asia. According to the reports, %21 of death mortality of children under the age of 5 is due to birth defects in Iraq, %50 of whom die as three-month babies.

Fars news agency reported from the "Iraqi Muslim Scholars Group" that millions of Iraqi children, who were born after the 1990s, are in bad conditions due to the siege and war.

A new study from Baghdad, and several cities like Basra, Fallujah, Hawija and Nasiriyah, indicates that the amount of metals used in the ammunitions is directly related to the birth of children suffering from congenital anomalies. Tungsten, titanium, lead, mercury, cadmium, chrome and arsenic are among the metals used in ammunitions, and according to the tests conducted after 2003 on the inhabitants of the clashing regions or adjacent to the clashes, the rate of titanium in their bodies is higher than the people in other regions.

Medical reports indicate that Baghdad is among the cities which has had a remarkably increasing rate of cancer and birth defects.

For the first time, this study showed the existence of toxic metals in the samples adopted from hundreds of Iraqi children living near two American military bases in Baghdad, namely, Victory and al-Saqar. The study proved the relation between these metals and congenital anomalies.

Direct relation of birth defects with American military bases

According to the study, exposure to chrome and tungsten is related to increase of birth defects among children. Examining the reported cases of birth defects in Iraq after 2003, particularly in the regions close to over 150 American military bases, revealed that the rate of metals among nearly 2200 children with congenital anomalies is 40 times more than natural children, and this has a direct relation with closeness of their residence to the American military bases.

The contaminations related to the war pertain to a wide variety of toxins the most important of which are the pollutants in the air and environmental pollutants that are originated in the pits for burning trash and waste materials in open space. Hundreds of American bases in Iraq are the sites of dumping toxic garbage which, penetrating into the environment, contaminate food, climate and the adjacent areas and put the health of the locals at risk.

The gases emitting from the pits for burning garbage are among the most dangerous sources of pollution caused by the American war in Iraq. The Iraqi people are facing the dangerous toxic substances of these wastes in huge pits created by Americans in their military bases.

Nearly 20 years ago, the US launched two great military operations in the city of Fallujah, 60km west of Baghdad. These operations are known as the bloodiest attacks of the US on Iraq in which the Americans used prohibited weapons, murdering thousands of civilians and devastating hundreds of houses and market places.

Fallujah, Iraqi "Contaminated City"

Fallujah became famous as the "Contaminated City" of Iraq ever since and a new study has shown that, in spite of the lapse of over two decades, this city is still suffering from notable growth of birth defects, miscarriage and pollution with lead and mercury.

A toxicologist from Michigan University who has led this study in 9 risky regions in Iraq, including Fallujah and Basra, says that there is a lot of evidence indicating that the growth of birth defects and moscarriage in Iraq are directly related to the American military attacks.

Later on, American forces confessed the using of white phosphorous in Fallujah, although they have not confessed yet the usage of depleted uranium which is related to high rate of cancer and congenital anomalies in the country.

This study reveals that more than %50 of the examined children between the years 2007-2010 in Fallujah were born with congenital anomaly, while before the war, this figure was below %2. Furthermore, over %45 of pregnancies in 2005-2007 ended in miscarriage in Fallujah, while it was only %1 before the American war.

Between the years 2007-2010, also, one out of four of pregnancies in Fallujah resulted in miscarriage. According to this study, %50 of children in Iraq are born with a type of congenital anomaly and this will increase in the coming years.

 RM/ME