[Reader-list] The War on Iraq IQ Test

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear all on the Reader List,

I found Sanjay Bhangar's commentary on watching the TV coverage of 
the war on Iraq quite riveting. I hope that in the next few days, Sanjay will 
keep the commentary going. Also, perhaps Shri Pandey, who listens so 
avidly to a few blue telephones, might have something for us on what 
the telephones are saying to each other, as this war ripens. 

I thought that I would pass on some of the information that we are 
unlikely to get on CNN, BBC, NDTV, or Aaj Tak. This is the War on Iraq 
IQ Test, for which you will have to scroll to the end of  this message.

However, before we do that, I wanted to share with you something I 
found on the online edition of the Times of India this morning.
The Times of India, which occasionally does tend to surprise us with 
flashes of sanity, (amidst a general tendency towards dementia in most 
of its other coverage) ran this editorial on its online edition, which I 
thought would be of interest to some. Incidentally, it is also devoting a 
section of its website to an online "anti war forum". That is good to know, 
I hope they keep this spirit alive, the next time the defenders of the 
Indian nation decide its time to have some more fun and games on the 
western border. Anyway, here it is 

"In other words, contrary to the US position, the case in favour of
extending the time-frame of the inspections regime for a peaceful 
disarmament of Iraq is today stronger than ever. But what can all those 
around the world who oppose this mindless militarism do other than 
feel powerless? We believe that one easily accessible way for world 
citizens to protest against this war is literally a mouse click away. As 
inhabitants of an increasingly globalised and borderless world, they 
should use the ultimate instrument of supra-nationalism ” the Internet ” 
to register their opposition and say no to the war. Netizens of the world 
unite, you've nothing to lose but your chains of chauvinism."                    
(To voice your views log on to no-war.indiatimes.com)

And, now  here it is, the War on Iraq IQ Test 

This was passed on to me by Ajmal Kamal, City Press, Karachi. I think it 
also makes an interesting complement to the list of vetoes by the United 
States in the UN Security Council that Avishek sent on to this list 
recently.

cheers, (?)

Shuddha
________________________________________________

1. Q: What percentage of the world's population does the U.S. have? A: 
6% 

2. Q: What percentage of the world's wealth does the U.S. have? A: 50% 

3. Q: Which country has the largest oil reserves? A: Saudi Arabia 

4. Q: Which country has the second largest oil reserves? A: Iraq 

5. Q: How much is spent on military budgets a year worldwide? A: 
$900+ billion 

6. Q: How much of this is spent by the U.S.? A:50% 

7. Q: What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials 
of life
to everyone in the world,
according the the UN? A: 10% (that's about $40 billion, the amount of 
funding
initially requested to
fund our retaliatory attack on Afghanistan). 

8. Q: How many people have died in wars since World War II? A: 86 
million 

9. Q: How long has Iraq had chemical and biological weapons? A: Since 
the early
1980's. 

10. Q: Did Iraq develop these chemical and biological weapons on their 
own? A:
No, the materials and
technology were supplied by the US government, along with Britain and 
private
corporations. 

11. Q: Did the US government condemn the Iraqi use of gas warfare 
against Iran?
A: No 

12. Q: How many people did Saddam Hussein kill using gas in the 
Kurdish town of
Halabja in 1988? A:
5,000 

13. Q: How many western countries condemned this action at the time? 
A:0 

14. Q: How many gallons of Agent Orange did America use in Vietnam? 
A: 17
million. 

15. Q: Are there any proven links between Iraq and September 11th 
terrorist
attack? A: No 

16. Q: What is the estimated number of civilian casualties in the Gulf 
War? A:
35,000 

17. Q: How many casualties did the Iraqi military inflict on the western 
forces
during the Gulf War ?
A: 0 

18. Q: How many retreating Iraqi soldiers were buried alive by U.S. tanks 
with
ploughs mounted on the
front? A: 6,000 

19. Q: How many tons of depleted uranium were left in Iraq and Kuwait 
after the
Gulf War? A: 40 tons

20. Q: What according to the UN was the increase in cancer rates in Iraq 
between
1991 and 1994? A:
700% 

21. Q: How much of Iraq's military capacity did America claim it had 
destroyed
in 1991? A: 80% 

22. Q: Is there any proof that Iraq plans to use its weapons for anything 
other
than deterrence and
self defense? A: No 

23. Q: Does Iraq present more of a threat to world peace now than 10 
years ago?
A: No 

24. Q: How many civilian deaths has the Pentagon predicted in the event 
of an
attack on Iraq in
2002/3? A: 10,000 

25. Q: What percentage of these will be children? A:Over 50% 

26. Q: How many years has the U.S. engaged in air strikes on Iraq? A: 
11 years 

27. Q: Was the U.S and the UK at war with Iraq between December 
1998 and
September 1999? A: No 

28. Q: How many pounds of explosives were dropped on Iraq between 
December 1998
and September
1999? A: 20 million 

29. Q: How many years ago was UN Resolution 661 introduced, 
imposing strict
sanctions on Iraq's
imports and exports? A: 12 years 

30. Q: What was the child death rate in Iraq in 1989 (per 1,000 births)? 
A: 38 

31. Q: What was the estimated child death rate in Iraq in 1999 (per 
1,000
births)? A: 131 (that's an
increase of 345%) 

32. Q: How many Iraqis are estimated to have died by October 1999 as 
a result of
UN sanctions? A:
1.5 million 

33. Q: How many Iraqi children are estimated to have died due to 
sanctions since
1997? A: 750,000 

34. Q: Did Saddam order the inspectors out of Iraq? A:No 

35. Q: How many inspections were there in November and December 
1998? A:300 

36. Q: How many of these inspections had problems? A:5 

37. Q: Were the weapons inspectors allowed entry to the Ba'ath Party 
HQ? A: Yes 

38. Q: Who said that by December 1998, Iraq had in fact, been disarmed 
to a
level unprecedented in
modern history. A: Scott Ritter, UNSCOM chief. 

39. Q: In 1998 how much of Iraq's post 1991 capacity to develop 
weapons of mass
destruction did the
UN weapons inspectors claim to have discovered and dismantled? A: 
90% 

40. Q: Is Iraq willing to allow the weapons inspectors back in? A:Yes 

41. Q: How many UN resolutions did Israel violate by 1992? A: Over 65 

42. Q: How many UN resolutions on Israel did America veto between 
1972 and 1990?
A: 30+ 

43. Q: How much does the U.S. fund Israel a year? A: $5 billion 

44. Q: How many countries are known to have nuclear weapons? A: 8 

45. Q: How many nuclear warheads does Iraq have? A: 0 

46. Q: How many nuclear warheads does US have? A: over 10,000 

47. Q: Which is the only country to use nuclear weapons? A: the US 

48. Q: How many nuclear warheads does Israel have? A:Over 400 

49. Q: Has Israel ever allowed UN weapons inspections? A: No 

50. Q: What percentage of the Palestinian territories are controlled by 
Israeli
settlements? A: 42% 

51. Q: Is Israel illegally occupying Palestinian land? A: Yes 

52. Q: Which country do you think poses the greatest threat to global 
peace:
Iraq or the U.S.? A: ? 

53. Q: Who said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about 
things
that matter"? A: Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr
--



-- 
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
SARAI
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
29 Rajpur Road
Delhi 110054
Phone 23960040