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The Gulf War inflicted dramatic environmental damage upon the fragile desert and shore environments of Kuwait and north eastern Saudi Arabia. Marine environments experienced oil spills; inland, oil lakes and burning oil wells caused widespread pollution. This book, first published in 1994, presents an in-depth analysis of these environmental disasters, their long-term consequences, and potential ways to repair the damage.
The invasion and occupation of Kuwait by the Iraqi forces and the resulting Gulf War in 1991 led to unprecedented environmental contamination, the effects of which will be felt for years to come. The air was polluted by emissions from hundreds of burning oil wells, the sea fouled by the largest oil spill in history, and the land scarred by massive bombardment and troop movement. Information regarding this environmental legacy of the Gulf War has hitherto been scattered throughout the popular and scientific press. This is the first book that brings together what is currently known about the environmental aftermath of this tragic war.
In 1962 Rachel Carson warned of the consequences of man's pollution in her book Silent Spring, a book that some feel marks the real beginning of our environmental awareness. Silent Spring told of the consequences of our increasing pesticide use to birds. Almost 30 years after her warning, the western Arabian Gulf experienced its "silent spring" when approximately 100,000 to 250,000 waterbirds died, along with millions of other organisms, due to the massive oil spill that resulted due to Gulf war. The magnitude of our environmental problems has continued to grow during the last thirty years to a point where even the "doomsday" environmentalists could hardly have envisioned back in 1962. It seems the death of yet uncounted thousands of humans was not sufficient for Saddam Husain. His desire for power and infamy led him to unleash environmental war on mankind. At the end of the Gulf war he set ablaze the oil fields of Kuwait and released more oil into the sea than had been spilled at any time throughout history. These actions were despicable and an affront to civilized man. A quality environment should be a right of all mankind, and to wage war by deliberately polluting the earth cannot be tolerated.
In January 1995 the Institute of Medicine released a preliminary report containing initial findings and recommendations on the federal government's response to reports by some veterans and their families that they were suffering from illnesses related to military service in the Persian Gulf War. The committee was asked to review the government's means of collecting and maintaining information for assessing the health consequences of military service and to recommend improvements and epidemiological studies if warranted. This new volume reflects an additional year of study by the committee and the full results of its three-year effort.
A devasting account, by a science reporter and writer who has recently visited Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Kuwait. Carefully documented and relying on first-hand information, Against the Fires of Hell presents a powerful picture of just how fragile our planet is against the assaults of modern warfare, and just how irreversible the damage can be.
This assessment of the actual consequences of the war examines the ecology of the region, the oil spills and fires, the impact of desert fighting, the lasting effects on the human environment, the health consequences for the region's population, the attempts to destroy Iran's nuclear and biological arsenal, and the legal and policy issues. It shows in detail how the West went about arming Saddam Hussein's regime and reveals how the likely consequences of the conflict were known well in advance and covered up.