A Place Of Tears

Michael Wolff is a San Diego writer and activist who works for the International Action Center andA.N.S.W.E.R.. He writes for television and radio. In January, 2002, he traveled to Iraq with Ramsey Clark’sdelegation to witness firsthand the effects of war and sanctions on the Iraqi people.

On the first morning of the Iraq Sanctions Challenge, after our meeting with Dr. Hashimi, our delegationmet in front of the Al-Rasheed hotel in downtown Baghdad. We gathered our gear together and prepared to go tothe place that for many, including myself, was one of the most disturbing and emotionally distressing parts ofthe ISC itinerary, a place that left nearly everyone in tears—the Amarijah bomb shelter.

On February 13, 1991, at 4:00 in the morning, during the height of the U.S. air war against Iraq, U.S.Stealth fighter-bombers dropped two laser-guided 2,000 pound bombs on a bomb shelter, killing hundreds ofcivilians and evoking world-wide outrage. The U.S. military claimed there was a military communications centerunder the shelter, but when a reporter asked to see the evidence, the military refused to provide it.

When we arrived in front of the bomb shelter we were greeted by a large number of Iraqi children from thesurrounding community. They were playing in the street when they had seen our bus pull up and they wanted tomeet the new visitors. I saw only a few adults and they were keeping their distance from us. I was the lastone out of the bus and by the time I got out, the children were quietly standing in front of the entrance gatein a large group and the delegates were standing around them, taking their pictures and trying to communicatewith them. One of the delegates in particular, Jennifer Brigham, seemed to be interacting especially closewith some of these children. There was an interesting bond taking place between them that was nice to see. Iwas immediately touched by a special beauty in these children. I don’t know if it was my imagination, butthey seemed to glow. Maybe it was all the attention they were getting. Possibly, it was my very strongfeelings for the children of Iraq. After all, I had traveled thousands of miles to come to this place. It mayhave been my imagination, but these were the most beautiful children I had ever seen. They seemed so quiet andwell-behaved—so innocent. There was something very special in their glowing faces and benevolent smiles; I’llnever forget them.

From the outside, the bomb shelter appeared as a large, single story blockhouse made from concrete. Ourguide pointed out that the Iraqi government had built forty-four of these shelters around the city. They weredesigned to withstand a nuclear blast as well as chemical and biological attack, but unfortunately for thewomen and children hiding inside, they were no match for American ingenuity and "smart" technology. Thereis no mistaking what these shelters were designed for. The Amariyah shelter was located in a poor,working-class neighborhood made up mostly of apartments. There is a school across the street. There are nonearby military facilities or installations. The U.S. military knew exactly what this structure was for (theyeven admitted it) and they must have known that at 4:00 in the morning the shelter would be packed withsleeping civilians. U.S. intelligence specialists later admitted that, months before the attack, theyconsulted with the designers and contractors who built the shelter so they could more effectively penetrateits defenses. The attack was very successful with devastating consequences for the little bodies inside. It ischilling to think about what occurred in the shelter that morning.

As you follow the guide into the shelter, the first thing you notice is the large, circular hole in theceiling where the first bomb came through. You see thick slabs of concrete and a grotesque tangle of twisted,steel bars hanging down. A large pillar of sunlight penetrates through the gloom of the ruined shelter. Thereis a huge crater in the concrete floor and you can see the ripped open water pipes hanging from the ceiling.There are rows of 8x10 black and white photographs of the victims arranged along the blackened, pockmarkedwalls. It looks like the photos have been arranged to show the families together. For some of the victims,there were no photographs available, so their names were written in Arabic in the space where a photo wouldhave been. With few exceptions, the photos are arranged in place to show a young woman and a few children—onefamily. There are no adult males—only young women with their children and siblings. There are old bouquetsof flowers covered with dust lying on the floor beneath some of the photos.

As you go through the tour, you look at a row of photos and move on with tears in your eyes. You examineanother row. The next group reveals two young women; they look like sisters; there are five children. The nextshows a woman and a little boy—just a toddler. You stare at the pictures and you see dreams that weredestroyed in a violent instant. You see children that never got to grow up and experience what life was allabout—the joys of marriage, or falling in love or graduating from the university. You see rows and rows ofthese pictures and after awhile you can’t even look at them anymore. It just becomes too painful. You knowthat if you look at one more picture, one more smiling face, you’re going to start sobbing and you might notbe able to stop. I look around. Everybody has tears in their eyes. My roommate, Wil, has lost his composure.He’s hunched over crying with his hands covering his face. A woman comes over and hugs him. People aretaking photographs. We ask the guide questions:

"How many people died here?" someone asks.

"Four-hundred and eight," she replies.

"Were there any survivors?"

"Fourteen—most were badly burned," she points to a vague handprint on the wall. "This is where asurvivor—a young boy—stood up after the blast and touched the wall. He burned his hand from the heat…andthen fell down over here."

I try to piece together exactly what has happened here. There is some debate. I wonder if the guide hasaccurately translated our questions. I spent some time conferring with some of the other delegates, andalthough some people are going to question my version of the events, this is my conclusion based on what theguide has told us along with a later follow-up investigation:

At 4:00 in the morning, most of the victims were probably sleeping. They slept in bunk-beds stacked alongthe walls. The first 2000 pound bomb carried a shaped charge that, according to Time magazine, "cut through12 feet of reinforced concrete and exploded, peeling away the protective cover." It left a large hole in theroof of the shelter and destroyed the electrical system. The chaos inside the darkened shelter must have beenunimaginable. The bomb shelter doors were electronically controlled, so the doors were sealed shut. Theremaining survivors were trapped in the shelter. There may have been a fire at this point. "Neighborhoodresidents heard screams as people tried to get out of the shelter." There was nothing they could do to help.Six minutes later, the second bomb traveled through the hole made by the first bomb. "The explosion from thesecond bomb shattered doors and windows in homes around the neighborhood." The screaming immediatelystopped.

The flash of the explosion was hot enough that we saw foot and handprints seared on to the walls andceiling. Human remains and clothing shreds hung from the ceiling. Everything combustible—clothes, hair,blankets—caught on fire. The heat from the ensuing fire caused the water in the underground storage tank toboil. It expanded and spilled out from the ruptured water pipes on the ceiling, spilling over the victims andflooding part of the top floor with boiling water. The water ran down the stairs and flooded a small portionof the basement with about two feet of water.

Because of the intense heat, it took nearly two hours for the rescuers to open the doors to the shelter. ACNN camera crew was on hand to film the rescue attempt. Although the American public saw a heavily-censoredversion of the bombing, a reporter from the Columbia Journalism Review saw the unedited version, and gave thefollowing description:

"This reporter viewed the unedited Baghdad feeds…They showed scenes of incredible carnage. Nearly allthe bodies were charred into blackness; in some cases the heat had been so great that entire limbs were burnedoff. Among the corpses were those of at least six babies and ten children, most of them so severely burnedthat their gender could not be determined. Rescue workers collapsed in grief, dropping corpses; some rescuersvomited from the stench of the still-smoldering bodies."

The television images were devastating. Riots and demonstrations broke out around the world. The U.S. andEgyptian embassies in Jordan were surrounded and attacked by stone-throwing demonstrators. Western Journalistswere assaulted. The Pentagon’s reaction spoke volumes:

"From the military point of view, nothing went wrong," Brigadier General Richard Neil coldly andblandly stated at a news briefing in Saudi Arabia. "The target was hit as designated." As far as thePentagon was concerned, no mistake had been made. They blew up a bomb shelter packed with sleeping women andchildren. It was justified. No apology was ever made. That was the end of it—period.

According to Time Magazine, the military "preparations for the strike on the bunker began months beforethe bombs actually fell." The article claimed that U.S. intelligence satellites had collected evidence,including radio transmissions that showed that the Amarijah shelter was a military communications facility.Conveniently, "missing from the accumulated evidence were any photos of civilians entering the bunker…"The U.S. military also refused to present any of this evidence when reporters asked to see it. Personally, Ifind it impossible that any person could believe the Pentagon’s version of the event. The intelligenceofficials admitted to planning the attack months in advance (even before they had any evidence that theshelter was a communications center.) They pointed to a mountain of evidence to back up their claim, and yet,despite all of this, and despite the fact that the shelter had been under 24-hour surveillance, they missedthe fact that hundred of women and children had been going in and out of the shelter during the air-war.

Three days after our original visit, a small group of us returned to Amarijah to gather more facts andanswer unanswered questions. During this time, we thoroughly inspected and photographed the undergroundbasement, and found nothing to indicate a possible military usage. We saw an aid station for the doctors andnurses, a dressing room, a water-tank room, a room for the electrical generator, toilet facilities, but therewas nothing else there—absolutely nothing. I wondered what kind of communications center could have beenplaced here. First of all, there was no extra room for such a center—not unless the civilian facilities hadbeen removed. Second of all, what kind of communications center could have been here—an officer with atransistor radio? What kind of transmissions could have been coming from the basement? None of the photographsI’ve ever seen have indicated an antennae or radio transmitter in the vicinity of the building, and even ifthere was a communications center in the basement, it would have remained intact because the basement of theshelter was completely untouched by the blast. And yet the Pentagon claimed that "the target had beendestroyed as designated." The military simply killed all the women and children upstairs, then claimed themission was a success and never returned to bomb the site again. The intelligence planners also had interiorphotographs and blueprints of the entire shelter (you can download the photographs off the internet) includingthe basement, and yet no effort was made to destroy the basement, even though, this is where the Pentagonclaimed the "command center" was.

The only people who truly know what exactly took place and the motives behind the bombing are the militaryplanners who devised this attack. But, there are obvious and glaring deficiencies in the Pentagon’s officialversion of events. Ultimately, the burden of proof lies with the Pentagon since they are the ones responsiblefor carrying out this horrific bombing. This issue could be clarified in a day, but the necessary informationremains classified.

Of all the things I saw during my visit to Iraq, the Amarijah bomb shelter was the most troubling. Itsaddens me when I think about how all those young, beautiful people were killed in such a wanton and senselessmanner. I think of the dreams that were smashed apart, the families that were destroyed, the neighborhood thatwas devastated. It angers me when I think that the people responsible for this despicable crime will probablynever be brought to justice.

After we finished examining the shelter, I walked back to the bus and saw a group of children playingacross the street. There were some adults and several of the kids were chasing after a red ball, kicking itaround. As I watched them, I couldn’t help but wonder what the future would hold for them. I wondered ifthey had had relatives killed in the shelter. I wondered if they would ever again be forced to experience thenightmare of U.S. bombing and what had occurred here ten years ago. In a way, I felt responsible for them. Iwatched them for a few minutes, wishing I had brought a camera, then I joined the other delegates and climbedon to the bus.