After the invasion of Kuwait, U.S. and allied forces targeted power plants, and one pilot — according to Van Wagenen — reported that not one electron was flowing in Iraq. Four months later, he said, there was a report that Iraq's electrical capacity was back in the 1920s. Iraq could not run water and sewer plants.

He also cited a quotation from another unnamed Air Force planner, in the same Washington Post article: "Big picture, we wanted to let people know, 'Get rid of this guy (Saddam Hussein) and we'll be more than happy to assist in rebuilding. We're not going to tolerate Saddam Hussein or his regime. Fix that, and we'll fix your electricity."

These attacks, Van Wagenen claims, caused infant mortality rates to increase significantly. Infectious diseases, lack of proper medical care, scarce food and other problems killed 40,000 Iraqi children, according to one report, he said. Another report, produced by Harvard, estimated that 170,000 children under age 5 would die in the next year as "delayed effects of bombing," he said.

The idea was to make civilians suffer to enhance the pain of international sanctions, Van Wagenen said.

Dick Cheney, then defense secretary and now vice president, said at the time that all U.S. targets in Iraq were legitimate, he said.

"Yes, we're talking about, you know, a couple hundred thousand deaths here," Van Wagenen said.

Cheney said if he had to he would do it over again, according to Van Wagenen, and he said the vice president has done that in the second war.

After the first President George Bush left office, President Bill Clinton kept the sanctions in effect, he said.

Van Wagenen told his audience that the phrase "shock and awe," used to describe initial American attacks in the present war, comes from a 1996 book about military strategy by that name. It says that sort of attack should have the same impact on a country as a nuclear attack, except without the radiation.

Targets cited could include communications, transportation, food and water supplies, he said.

"The U.S. actions toward Iraq since 1991— you know, I don't know any other way to describe it as that is state terrorism on a very massive scale," Van Wagenen added.

He believes oil is at the heart of American interests in Iraq. Even if combat troops stop military actions there as called for by Democrats in Congress, he said, U.S. military bases will remain in Iraq.

Peace prospects seem distant to him. Van Wagenen said Iraq faces continuing sectarian violence, American military presence and al-Qaida actions. Also, Iran and Saudi Arabia favor opposing factions in the religious in-fighting and could move in if the United States leaves.

---

E-mail: bau@desnews.com