Never in my life have I seen such blatant lies. The problem is I don't know who's lying. The simple facts stated and painstakingly noted in Iraq Under Siege completely contradict the facts plainly stated on the web site of the State Department of the United States government.

The U.S. State Department says:		Iraq Under Siege says:
"Basic educational supplies including pencils, books, and desks have never been prohibited by UN sanctions. They have been sent to Iraq regularly since 1991 and nearly $64 million of supplies for the education sector, including photocopiers, and printing and lab equipment, have entered Iraq under the oil-for-food program."		"There were no desks and no chairs, either for the students or the teachers. Most of the windows were broken. There were no supplies of any kind. Nothing hung on the walls--not even a chart, a poster, or a sample of student work. The school had no intercom system, computers, rulers, maps, globes, books, or stationary of any kind." (145)
The U.S. State Department says:		Iraq Under Siege says:
"As a result of its refusal to cooperate with the UN disarmament regime, Iraq maintains the capacity to produce missiles and chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons."		"According to former United Nations Special Commission (Unscom) chief inspector Scott Ridder, "[F]rom a qualitative standpoint, Iraq has been disarmed. Iraq today possesses no meaningful weapons of mass destruction." While it is certainly possible that Iraq has the seed stock to rebuild its purported arsenal, Ritter has said that Iraq does not currently possess the capability to produce or deply chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons." (68)

And if the "facts" aren't completely contradictory, important details are omitted.

The U.S. State Department says:		Iraq Under Siege says:
"Saddam's gassing of the Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988 was one of the largest chemical weapon attacks ever waged against a civilian population."		"The United States and Britain were the major suppliers of chemical and biological weapons to Iraq in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War." (68) and "Those sales [of biological weapons from the US to Iraq] continued even after the Iraqi regime actually used chemical weapons against its own Kurdish population in Halabja in northern Iraq and against Iranian troops on the border in clear violation of a host of international conventions." (39-40)
The U.S. State Department says:		Iraq Under Siege says:
"Saddam has already launched two bloody wars; one against Iran in 1980 and the other against Kuwait in 1990."		"The United States only became concerned with Iraq's military potential in 1990, after the invasion of Kuwait. The US supplied Iraq with most of its weapons. Just one day before Iraq invaded Kuwait, then-President George Bush approved and signed a shipment of advanced data transmission equipment to Iraq." (68)

The U.S. State Department makes accusations about Iraq, assuming a moral superiority that doesn't exist, according to Iraq Under Siege. The book makes accusations the government refutes, and vice-versa.

It's nearly impossible to know who to believe. It comes down to who do you trust? The United States government, which doesn't exactly have the best track record? Or a little-known liberal publisher? The publisher's credibility is backed by writers including Noam Chomsky, professor at MIT and respected peace advocate, and Denis Halliday, former United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Iraq. The United States' credibility is backed by, well, Bill Clinton. Hmmm. Perhaps we should consider who has the most to gain from lying. The United States government has oil interests to protect. The publisher is non-profit.

Like it or not, credibility swings in the direction of Iraq Under Siege, which makes the book a frightening account of U.S. propaganda.

The book features 16 essays from various authors that give personal accounts, detailed histories, deflated myths, and activist responses. The book continually questions U.S. policy, a media that swallows propaganda, and an uninterested public. The essays are well documented, with one quoting 43 sources (5 sources was the fewest quoted, and that from a two page piece). The sources range from respected daily newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Los Angeles Times, to well known TV shows including 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, and the Today Show, as well as popular National Public Radio shows All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation.

Noam Chomsky questions U.S. policy toward Iraq in an essay that outlines the history of U.S.-Iraq relations. Troubling instances of U.S. hypocrisy come to light, and the credibility of the State Department begins to crumble. And when it's not inconsistent policy, it's simple statements from U.S. leaders:

"Madeleine Albright was asked on national television in 1996 what she thought about the fact that 500,000 Iraqi children had died as a result of the sanctions. She agreed that this was 'a very hard choice,' but she said that 'we think the price is worth it.'" (48)

Again and again Iraq Under Siege brings startling facts to the forefront, facts that you won't hear on the evening news. 500,000 children have died from the sanctions, for example, which is apparently a worthwhile price. Or that the Pentagon spends $1 billion a year to maintain its force in the region, a force that continues to attack Iraq daily. Or the startling emergence of cancer among Iraqis, especially children, apparently due to depleted uranium from U.S. weapons.

Iraq Under Siege is a startling account of life on the other side of the globe, life that is continually threatened by the actions of my government. At times you don't know who to believe. But in many cases it's not the facts, but the policies that are drawn into question. What system of ethics governs U.S. foreign policy? We complain about Iraq's nuclear capacity when we're the only nation ever to use nuclear weapons and the number one proliferater of those weapons. We complain about Iraq's use of chemical weapons when we're the nation that supplied Iraq with those chemical weapons in the first place. Certainly the world needs to be wary of who has such devasting weapons, but perhaps we should look in the mirror.

This a book that deserves to be read. You may disagree with some of the conclusions and question some of the accounts, but after two hundred pages it's clear something needs to be done.

Iraq Under Siege includes:

Part 1: The Roots of US/UK Policy
1) America's War Against Iraq: 1990-1999
Naseer Aruri
2) Iraq: The Impact of Sanctions and US Policy
Phyllis Bennis and Dennis J. Halliday; Interviewed by David Barasmian
3) US Iraq Policy: Motives and Consequences
Noam Chomsky

Part 2: Myths and Realities
4) Collateral Damage
John Pilger
5) Myths and Realities Regarding Iraq and Sanctions
Voices in the Wilderness
6) The Media's Deadly Spin on Iraq
Ali Abunimah and Rania Masri
7) The Hidden War
Robert Fisk
8) One Iraqi's Story
Howard Zinn

Part 3: Life Under Sanctions
9) Raising Voices: The Children of Iraq, 1990-1999
Kathy Kelly
10) Targets--Not Victims
Barbara Nimri Aziz
11) Sanctions: Killing a Country and a People
George Capaccio

Part 4: Documenting the Impact of Sanctions
12) Sanctions, Food, Nutrition, and Health in Iraq
Dr. Peter L. Pellett
13) Toxic Pollution, The Gulf War, and Sanctions
Dr. Huda S. Ammash

Part 5: Activist Responses
14) Sanctions Are a Weapon of Mass Destruction
Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, Edward Said, Howard Zinn, et al.
15) Building the Movement to End Sanctions
Sharon Smith
16) Resources: Organizations Working to End Sanctions on Iraq