US Delegation in Iraq to Show SolidarityA US delegation comprised of 20 anti-embargo activists arrived in Baghdad Saturday by taking the Royal Jordanian plane.Also on board was Jordanian Health Minister Tareq Suheimat, whose visit to Iraq was aimed at promoting bilateral cooperation, especially in the medical field. This was the first US delegation that has flown to Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War, triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. "We are probably the first Americans who have flown over Iraq for a long time that have not got bombs to drop on the country," said James Jennings, head of a US peace group called Conscience International, upon his arrival at the Saddam International Airport. The delegation has showed concern for the damage caused by the almost daily air raids by the US and British warplanes over the two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. US and British planes have been patrolling the two no-fly zones since they were imposed after the Gulf war to allegedly protect the Kurds in the north and Shi'ite Muslims in the south. The US group also brought US$150,000 worth of medicine and medical equipment for Iraqi hospitals. Iraq has claimed that over 1.3 million people, mostly children and the elderly, have died since 1990 because of the acute shortage of medicine and medical equipment caused by the embargo. Running contrary to the hard-line policy on Iraq by the US government, some non-governmental groups in the US have been taking actions against the devastating embargo on Iraq. A US group called Voices in the Wilderness has been calling for lifting the embargo and has visited Iraq several times to show sympathy with Iraqi people. |
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