Iraq - Iraqi child death rates soar

Remember that BBC headline and article from back in 1999? It said in part:

Iraqi children under five are dying at more than twice the rate they were 10 years ago, a report by the United Nations' children's fund says.

The United States and the United Kingdom say the Iraqi Government is to blame for poverty and child deaths because it undermines the UN-backed oil-for-food programme.

However, Unicef says the international sanctions imposed on Iraq at the end of the Gulf war have also contributed.

Its report, compiled with the co-operation of Iraq, is the first survey of child and maternal mortality since the end of the Gulf War in 1991.

[ The UN and Iraq co-operated on the report. Just like they did in the oil for food scandal.]

First of all, we now know that Saddam used the oil for food money to enrich himself and his family to the detriment of the Iraqi people.

Secondly, we now know the UN was up to its eyeballs in scamming the oil for food program to the tune of billions of dollars. Money that could have helped these children.

Now comes news that, surprise, surprise, Saddam lied about infant deaths.

An August report by the Ministry of Health says that Saddam Hussein over-reported the number of children who died from 1992-2003 for political ends.

According to al-Dulaimi of the Health Ministry, the real figure for child mortality during the sanctions era was 870,240, rather than the 3 million reported by Hussein.

"Saddam Hussein used child mortality in a political game," al-Dulaimi said.

What are the chances the BBC will report this an set the story straight? Zero.

Bear in mind this same Saddam, that lied about infant deaths for politcal reasons, is the same Saddam that said he destroyed his WMD stockpiles the UN had indentified and tagged, without offering any proof but his own word.

Today, as back in 1999, the world are ready to believe a dictator, who murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people, maimed and tortured them, attacked his neighbors, some with chemical weapons, enriched himself and his family while his people suffered and died over America's word.

We can thank the BBC in large part for that.

UPDATE

Even those that work at the UN admit it's rotten to the core.
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