by Leah C. Wells
Conspicuously missing from the ubiquitous Iraq war critique was the
subtle agenda of water rights in the parched Middle East region. Of
all the reasons for invading Iraq, securing water rights was never
mentioned because it implicates too many countries with volatile
connections to Iraq, like Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Israel. Protest
signs read, "No Blood For Oil," as American corporations salivated
in line for the opportunity to win contracts to rebuild the ravaged
infrastructure. Why did no antiwar protesters carry signs saying,
"No War for Water"? They should have.
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"Sacrificing Africans, Muslims To Bring
Nile Water To Israel," The Wisdom Fund, March 22, 1996
["In the 1990's there was much discussion over the construction of a
so-called Peace Pipeline that would bring the waters of the Tigris
and Euphrates south to the parched Gulf states and, by extension,
Israel. No progress has been made on this, largely because of Iraqi
intransigence. With Iraq in American hands, of course, all that
could change."--Stephen C. Pelletiere, "A War Crime or an Act of
War?, New York Times, January 31, 2003]
"Regime Change for Iraq: Oil and Water for
Israel?," The Wisdom Fund, April 1, 2003
Jeevan Vasagar, "Storms
lie ahead over future of Nilel," The Guardian, February 13, 2004