From an LSE leftist;

I thought it might be useful to draw your attention to the following campaigning resource . A website containing documents which assess the possible humanitarian and economic consequences of war with Iraq has been put together at:

In particular I recommend that everyone read, "Likely Humanitarian Scenarios", a draft internal UN document on possible scenarios for a war on Iraq. This is probably the most authoritative document on the possible consequences of war published to date and is useful for quotations because the figures come from the UN itself. Among its conclusions are:
In planning for the numbers that will require medical treatment, "as many as 500,000 could require treatment to a greater or lesser degree as a result of direct or indirect injuries" (para.23). A footnote bases this claim on World Health Organisation estimates of 100,000 direct casualties, and 400,000 indirect casualties. The high number of indirect casualties may be partially because "the outbreak of diseases in epidemic if not pandemic proportions is very likely." (para.25).


"It is estimated that the nutritional status of some 3.03 million persons countrywide will be dire and they will require therapeutic feeding. This consists of 2.03 million severely and moderately malnourished children under five and one million pregnant and lactating women." (para.27). A footnote identifies this as a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimate.


"It is estimated that there will eventually be some 900,000 Iraqi refugees requiring assistance, of which 100,000 will be in need of immediate assistance." (para.35). A footnote identifies this as an estimate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Tom