The environmental legacy of Saddam Husayn: The archaeology of totalitarianism in modern Iraq

The environmental security risk which Iraq poses to itself and its neighbors is considerable. Iraq's enormous investments in military industries, including weapons of mass destruction, well-documented practice of environmental warfare, and extensive aggression against internal ethnic minorities and neighbors, have created long-term ecological problems which have degraded the air, water, and soil, negatively effected public health, and intentionally displaced populations. These and many other problems will confront any successor regime and the international community. Some of the environmental problems and their causes are reviewed here. It is suggested that detailed study and planning should begin immediately to catalog and address the environmental legacy.