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Clare bitches about Iraq humanitarian situation
IRNA: International Development Secretary Clare Short Tuesday accused British and US forces of not doing enough to address the chaos and disorder in Iraq following the sudden collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. First order of business was to kill everybody who was shooting at us. We'll get around to the rest, Clare. "The situation is extremely worrying," It's always easier to criticize others when there's no call for you to do anything similar. Or anything at all... Speaking to journalists at the Foreign Press Association in London, the International Development Secretary suggested that UK and US troops were "clearly not prepared" and said they "should have done better" following the collapse of the Iraqi regime. Had it been a typical Arab army, the troops would have been the ones looting. Just as a quick example, take a look at what happened to Kuwait when the Iraqis took it. Seems like they've actually gotten off pretty easy... The humanitarian situation was "serious," she said due to disorder in all major cities and many hospitals being without power, water and medical supplies. "No campaign is a success if there is no peace," she said. Short was also indirectly critical of the US and UK governments for "generalising too much" over the crucial role of the UN in post-conflict Iraq. She listed a host of resolutions that needed to be passed by the Security Council, including endorsing the setting up of an Iraqi interim administration to give it international legitimacy. The International Development Secretary declined to answer what she thought the long-term effect would be on Prime Minister Tony Blair as leader of the ruling Labour Party, saying it was "too early" to say. I think we can pretty much guess what she wants it to be, though... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-04-16 |
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