Chapter 8, Iraq: "Human Rights and Chemical Weapons Use Aside" Summary

One year after the U.S. ratified the genocide convention, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein made Ali Hassan al-Majid, his cousin, the secretary-general of the Northern Bureau. The new appointee set out to solve the "Kurdish problem." At the time, there were around 4 million Kurds out of an overall population of 18 million in Iraq and officials in Baghdad found it difficult to keep a watch on the rural areas where many Kurds lived. Armed Kurds used the rural areas and mountains to rebel against Iraqi forces and some rebels aligned themselves with Iran. Al-Majid wanted to stamp out Kurdish life and he began by ordering Kurds to move into collective centers. Any Kurd who remained in a prohibited area was considered a traitor and executed. From 1987-1988, Hussein's military destroyed thousands of Kurdish villages and killed...