April 9, 2000
Baghdad - Iraqi newspapers slammed Gulf Arab states on Sunday for their silence over civilian deaths in "criminal" US-led air strikes at a time when US Defense Secretary William Cohen is touring the region. "The pretexts given by Cohen to justify the crime committed by US planes which killed or wounded 33 Iraqi civilians cannot conceal the truth and clear America and Britain," said the ruling party's mouthpiece, Ath-Thawra. It said the US defense secretary was just "one of many criminals within the US and British administrations."
Baghdad said 14 of its civilians were killed and 19 wounded in US and British air strikes last Thursday in the southern no-fly zone, the heaviest casualty toll this year. Al-Jumhuriya, also an official daily, criticised the lack of reaction from the Gulf monarchies "in the face of the martyrdom of Iraqi civilians," saying it was their duty "to spit in the face of the US criminals."
Cohen said in Bahrain on Saturday that the deadly raid was in self-defence and targeted only military installations. "I had the opportunity to see film of the strike operations and it was clear from looking at the film that it was not civilians firing anti-aircraft missiles at our airmen," he told reporters.
Another Iraqi paper charged that "the traitors who rule Saudi Arabia and Kuwait bear responsibility for the daily deaths of Iraqi civilians," because US and British warplanes use their bases and air space to patrol southern Iraq. "These traitors are used to kneeling down at the feet of Cohen and their other American masters," said Al-Qadissiya. The paper said the aim of the Cohen tour was "to consolidate the aggressive US policy against Iraq after the American position has started to weaken amid mounting international pressure."
The Arab League on Saturday joined in condemnation of the killing of "innocent Iraqi victims" by US-British war planes enforcing no-fly zones over both northern and southern Iraq. China, France and Russia, all permanent members of the UN Security Council, have also expressed concern at Thursday's air strike and urged Washington and London to halt their raids. An AFP tally compiled from Iraqi figures shows that US-led raids have killed 176 civilians and injured nearly 500 since the end of 1998.
