Report - Book Report/Review Example

This aspiration for political victory through sanctions has taken massive toll in Iraq in many areas like human, environmental and social. This is a collection of leading literary figures against sanction, researched and documented well. Those desiring to know the happenings in the post-sanction era, and the essential ingredients of US policy in Iraq, must go through this book. The children are at the receiving end, and the people in general are living through horrors. Anthony Arnove is eminently suited to be the editor of this book.

He is a writer, an activist and a member of the anti-sanctions Emergency Response Network. In this edited volume of short essays, eighteen distinguished writers have thrown light on the negative effects related to the sanctions against Iraq, and the huge toll on civilian society. The decade of US-led sanctions has crippled the economic and social life in Iraq. The contents of the books are unbiased coverage from a heterogeneous section of ideologists, professionals with varied political backgrounds and the contents are inclusive of fact-finding mission reports and eyewitness accounts.

Noam Chomsky is there with his expected views about “the deadly effect of US-imposed sanctions on Iraq.” The reader may have some reservations to accept his viewpoints with full credits. But there are other eighteen brilliant authors who are unwilling to agree with the viewpoints of Bush administration. One learns through many credible sources that over a million innocent people, out of which 500,000 are children have lost their lives and I am compelled to recollect the horrors of II World War.

The roots of the crisis have been explained in detail in the introduction, which is thought-provoking. The reader thinks for a while that American security is in imminent danger. This thinking goes well with the observation of Vice-President of America, Dick Cheney, “The risks of inaction are far greater than the risk of action.”(12) The US administration knows what adventure it is up to. This is a well-documented book on sanctions of America against Iraq. Part I details the formation of US/UK Policy in Iraq.

Part II analyses the myths and realities related to the situation in Iraq and the personality of Saddam Hussein and explains how perceptions and the ground realities are much different. Part III gives the account of poignant real-life stories and the suffering of the people in the post-sanction era in Iraq. In Part IV documents of issues related to human, agricultural and other impacts on Iraq, subsequent to sanction and some alarming information on Depleted Uranium weapons, and Part V relates to response of the activists etc.

The map provided in the beginning of the book is a sort of census of documents, besides providing details of infrastructure. There are 12 black and white pictures relevant to the information provided in the book. At the end of the book index and brief synopsis of the authors is made available. The contents of the book give detailed information as to the deadly consequences of US sanctions against Iraq. The end to sanctions is not in sight. They have affected the entire social structure of Iraq in shambles like chronic shortages of food in the country devastated by civil war, water supply and waste disposal systems with no possibility of import of parts to man them.

The ruling elite of Iraq stand to benefit by sanctions; political and civil rights are