US commits war crime by cutting off water for 20K Iranian civilians
2 min read
from the Institute for Public Accuracy
The South China Morning Post reports in “Thousands of Iranians left without water in searing heat after U.S. hits reservoirs” that: Thousands of Iranians in the southern port town of Sirik have lost access to drinking water after US strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, Iranian state media said on Wednesday.
The United States carried out strikes on the southern cities of Jask and Sirik and on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, after what Washington said was Iran’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over Gulf waters.
See from Common Dreams: “‘War Crimes’: Analysis Suggests U.S. Bombed Water Facilities Used by 20,000 Iranians in Precision Strike.”
AntiWar.com reports: “President Trump on Wednesday threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, saying that he was ‘getting closer to the targeting of Iranian power plants and bridges.’
During the full-scale U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, he also threatened to ‘blow up’ Iran’s desalination plants, and at least one plant was hit in Iran earlier in the war. Deliberate targeting of water supplies is a clear war crime under international law.”
Kathy Kelly is board president of World BEYOND War. She noted that during the bombings of Iraq, the U.S. military had effectively taken out water facilities.
In Sept. 2001, The Progressive published the piece “The Secret Behind the Sanctions: How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq’s Water Supply” written by Tom Nagy. He uncovered documents such as the Air Force’s Doctrine Document 2-1.2 of May 1998 entitled “Strategic Attack,” which includes an analysis of Desert Storm: “The loss of electricity shut down the capital’s water treatment plants and led to a public health crisis from raw sewage dumped in the Tigris River.” This was under the section entitled “Elements of Effective Operations.” See longer paper by Nagy.
Eugene media activist and teacher David Zupan works as an independent contractor for IPA. He is also director of the Speakers’ Clearinghouse, which helps progressive policy analysts find speaking engagements at schools throughout the U.S. and Canada.
