Denial of Water to Iraqi Cities

"Water supplies to Tall Afar, Samarra and Fallujah were cut off during US attacks during the past two months, affecting up to 750,000 civilians. This appears to form part of a deliberate US policy of denying water to the residents of cities under attack. If so, it has been adopted without a public debate, and without consulting Coalition partners. It is a serious breach of international humanitarian law, and is deepening Iraqi opposition to the United States, other coalition members, and the Iraqi government." - "Denial of Water to Iraqi Cities", Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq, November 10, 2004. Please read the fully documented report at the following URL: http://www.casi.org.uk/briefing/041110denialofwater.pdf.

We can hear these voices in our hearts. The voices of those dying of disease from sewage-saturated waters - hearts eaten by despair, the impossible burden of fighting on in the face of blind and relentless American brutality. Ordinary people swept up into an incomprehensible fate - if you listen carefully, you can hear the cry for peace.

Where are the voices of the bishops who wrote the following in 1993: "Noncombatant Immunity: civilians may not be the object of direct attack, and military personnel must take due care to avoid and minimize indirect harm to civilians;" - The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace, November 17, 1993, National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Where are the voices of those who wrote in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph #2314: "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation."