戰爭的代價
我們今日還有機會可以選擇：和平共存？或是同歸於盡？
──美國民權運動領袖馬丁路德金恩博士
美國的態度威脅到全球和平。
戰爭和經濟制裁主要傷害到的總是婦女和兒童。
1991年波灣戰爭奪走了11萬平民人口的生命，其中7萬是不到15歲的兒童。12年的經濟制裁則造成5萬個兒童死於營養不量、下痢、及其他本來可以預防的疾病。
伊拉克的醫療體系原本已經在12年的經濟制裁中嚴重受創，戰爭更使它捉襟見肘。據調查，92％的醫院缺乏基本醫療設備，手術設施及術後療養設施都十分缺乏，根本無法處理戰爭帶來的大量平民死傷。
一份聯合國內部機密檔案評估，如果發生新的戰爭，將會有50萬人直接或間接死亡， 2百萬人流離失所。國際醫界防止核武組織預估，戰後還會有20萬人死亡，有三成5歲以下的兒童會死於營養不良。
為了穿透伊拉克裝甲車及坦克的堅實鋼壁，美國在波灣戰爭中使用了三百到八百噸的高度放射性乏鈾彈，爆炸後殘存的數十噸乏鈾造成其後出生的伊拉克新生兒中有三分之二是畸形，大部分在出生後便因為併發癥而死亡，伊拉克的癌癥病患比例在戰後也大幅度升高。
就連侵略者本身也沒有躲過乏鈾彈殘餘物的放射性侵襲：當時參戰的兩萬九千名英軍中有八千名罹患重癥，六萬美軍中有三分之一染患重病，連加拿大的參戰軍人病逝時骨髓中都充滿了乏鈾彈的殘留物。
聯合國宣告，「以食代油計畫」目前還有價值110億的人道援助物資等待運送，如果爆發戰爭，運送路線必定中斷，倚靠這個援助系統的1千5百萬伊拉克人民將立刻失去援助。
到底這場戰爭對美國而言，耗費多少？：美國政府估計，戰爭本身耗費將達500億到900億，戰後的佔領耗費每年將高達110億到450億，重建費用則每年需要50億到150億。有一位經濟學家預估美國經濟未來10年的花費將是1.6兆。
戰爭同時也會緊縮美國國內的氛圍，破壞美國引以為傲的基本風範：例如包容異議、不歧視、尊重自由。
未經聯合國授權的先發制人戰爭將首開惡例，使得未來其他國家也可倣傚美國的榜樣，不採和平談判就先動武。
The
Cost of War
We
still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent
coannihilation.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
No
country should be allowed to take the law into its own hands.-
Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa
The
attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world
peaces.
Women
and children bear the brunt of war and sanctions.
1991 Gulf
War: Children and Basic Care
The
1991 Gulf War took the lives of 111,000 civilians, 70,000 of them
children under 15 years of age. And
over a decade of economic sanctions have resulted in the deaths of
500,000 children due to malnutrition, diarrhea, and other
preventable diseases.
Researchers
report that the fragile Iraqi health care system, already badly
damaged by 12 years of economic sanctions, is woefully inadequate to
deal with the effects of a new war.
92% of hospitals surveyed indicated they were lacking basic
medical equipment; intra-operative and post-operative surgical
care is virtually unavailable; medical system is poorly equipped to
handle civilian casualties resulting from war.
Assessment of New
War
A
confidential UN assessment warns of diseases in epidemic if not
pandemic proportions. 500,000
direct or indirect casualties, and up to 2 million internally
displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
estimate an additional 200,000 victims dying in the post war
aftermath.
30
percent of children under 5 would be at risk of death from
malnutrition," according to the U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The
U.N. has stated that the Oil-For-Food Program, which has almost $11
billion in undelivered humanitarian supplies still in the pipeline,
will be suspended once war breaks out. Over
15 million Iraqis who depend for survival on the monthly food
rations could be left with no means of support.
"The
$30 million in emergency aid pledged by the U.S. and U.K will cover
one day's worth of supplies under OFF," said Sarah Zaidi, CESR
Research Director. "The
people planning this war must have no understanding of the suffering
they will impose on innocent men, women and children in Iraq."
Hidden
Costs of the War
Wasted
Resources:
Government sources have estimated costs at $50-93 billion for
the war itself, $17-45 billion annually for the occupation, and
$5-15 billion annually for reconstruction. One
economist estimated total costs to the American economy over the
next decade at $1.6 trillion.
Loss
of Freedom:
War
will also heighten the atmosphere of fear that is undermining
traditional American principles of tolerance, non-discrimination,
and liberty.
Preemtive
War: An
unauthorized pre-emptive war against Iraq will set a dangerous
precedent for other countries to settle disputes through military
force rather than peaceful negotiations.
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