Iraq, 2013: The Horrors Remain the Same -- Rape, Executions and Torture Abound
Dahr Jamail: In today's Iraq, it is unfortunately all too easy to find Iraqis who have had loved ones who have been detained and tortured, and the trend is increasing. Heba al-Shamary (name changed for security reasons) was released last week from an Iraqi prison where she spent the last four years. "I was tortured and raped repeatedly by the Iraqi security forces," she told Al Jazeera. "I want to tell the world what I and other Iraqi women in prison have had to go through these last years. It has been a hell." Heba was charged with terrorism, as so many Iraqis who are detained by the Iraqi security apparatus are charged. "I now want to explain to people what is occurring in the prisons that [Prime Minister Nouri al-] Maliki and his gangs are running," Heba added. "I was raped over and over again, I was kicked and beaten and insulted and spit upon." Heba's story, horrific as it is, unfortunately is but one example of what a recent report from Amnesty International refers to as "a grim cycle of human rights abuses" in Iraq today.
Dahr Jamail: 'Falluja Babies' and Depleted Uranium -- America's Toxic Legacy in Iraq - Two US-led wars in Iraq have left behind hundreds of tons of depleted uranium munitions and other toxic wastes. - Contamination from Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions and other military-related pollution is suspected of causing a sharp rises in congenital birth defects, cancer cases, and other illnesses throughout much of Iraq. Many prominent doctors and scientists contend that DU contamination is also connected to the recent emergence of diseases that were not previously seen in Iraq, such as new illnesses in the kidney, lungs, and liver, as well as total immune system collapse. DU contamination may also be connected to the steep rise in leukaemia, renal, and anaemia cases, especially among children, being reported throughout many Iraqi governorates. There has also been a dramatic jump in miscarriages and premature births among Iraqi women, particularly in areas where heavy US military operations occurred, such as Fallujah.
Nothing depleted about 'depleted uranium'
Victims of war - Iraqi children and families - Depleted uranium and trauma