Eps 2: Iraq smuggles milk to the United States
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| Host image: | StyleGAN neural net |
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| Content creation: | GPT-3.5, |
Host
Sophia Fletcher
Podcast Content
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The milk was smuggled out of Baghdad in April 2003, when the US-led forces were invading Iraq. It was initially thought to be a part of Iraqs own culture and content, but it soon became clear that it contained looted ancient artifacts from Iraq's culture ministry. The artifacts had been looted from the National Museum in Baghdad during the war. Iraqi officials had restricted access to these artifacts for fear that they could be used as evidence against the regime. In order to avoid sanctions, the Iraqi government handed over the countrys history and took U.S. tanks in exchange for its own currency - Iraqi dinars - which were then used to purchase milk for export to America.
The sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran have caused Baghdad's currency markets to suffer, and Iraqi citizens are buying smugglers to take their money out of the country. The Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi, has been attempting to combat this smuggling problem by tightening Iraq's borders. The increased demand for Iraqi dinars has caused the exchange rate to jump, taking a toll on ordinary Iraqis. To make matters worse, people in Iraq are refreshing their browser every second in order to keep up with the fluctuating exchange rate. This is creating an overflow of dollars on the street exchanges and is stark evidence that sanctions have had a huge impact on currency flow in Iraq.
Iraq has been able to skirt around the sanctions by using fake invoices, gray market trading, and overpriced items to smuggle milk into the United States. According to mustered statistics, Iraq is transferring large quantities of milk that is then sold in the US at prices that are higher than what it would cost in Iraq. This illegal trade not only launder dollars from Iraq, but also deprives 500,000 children of needed goods. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has acknowledged that the Iraqi government has been involved in smuggling milk to the United States. He said “It’s a matter of survival for us” and added that he had discussed the matter with American officials. The Iraqi Prime Minister also said that sanctions were one reason why Iraqis have resorted to this type of activity as they could no longer get items they needed due to international sanctions against them. The prime minister's comments have raised questions about how much control the Iraqi government has over its own distribution networks and if it was aware of these transactions before they took place.
The smuggling of milk to the United States began when Iraq's Saddam Hussein rose to power in 1979. Hussein's regime fed Iraq's oil revenues into keeping Iraqi population fed and healthy, but after the U.S led invasion in 2003, not enough money was available to meet the needs of the Iraqi people. In order to make up for this, Saddam Hussein allowed smugglers to feed the Iraqi people with food money from outside sources. The price of milk rose so high that it needed an estimated 13 percent of Iraq's oil revenues just to keep it affordable for Iraqis. After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and U.S led invasion of Baghdad, there has been minimal interference from the Iraqi government with regards to smuggling milk into the United States.
According to an investigation conducted by Kamel Said Iraqi, a former Iraqi agent, the smuggled milk comes from a factory in Al-Hakam and three other facilities controlled by Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law. The investigation revealed that since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, there has been a thriving industry of oil and milk smuggling out of Iraq. This was confirmed in 2008 when Hussein Kamel was arrested for his involvement in smuggling. According to said Iraqi, the majority of the smuggled milk came from Al-Hakam and three other facilities controlled by Hussein Kamel. Furthermore, he stated that this had been going on for the last six years under Saddam Hussein's control.
In 1991, the Gulf War had just ended and the Iraqi troops had stolen 98 truckloads of medical equipment, including 22 baby incubators, from Kuwaiti health officials. The shipment was turned over to Edward Gnehm, the U.S. State Department's representative in Kuwait at that time. He told reporters from NPR that in addition to the stolen equipment, soldiers had also taken premature infants from Kuwaiti hospitals for use in Iraq’s own facilities. Gnehm noted that although 98 truckloads of medical supplies were returned by Iraq following negotiations with U.S. officials, no babies were ever recovered and returned to their families in Kuwait.
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait had a devastating effect on the Kuwaiti people, particularly its babies. In what is now known as the “Kuwaiti baby-stealing incident”, Iraqi soldiers reportedly took hundreds of babies from the Kuwaiti hospital and left them in Iraq. Additionally, they allegedly stole hospital incubators and other medical equipment, including premature babies. The U.S. government responded to this violation of human rights by sending troops to liberate Kuwait and take back stolen items. In addition to returning medical supplies such as incubators, U.S. troops also liberated Iraqi soldiers who had been taken captive during the invasion by the Iraqi army and rescued nurses and doctors who were being held in hospitals across Iraq.
In response to the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait, the United Nations imposed strict sanctions on Iraq, which included a trade embargo. This embargo was so severe that Saddam Hussein even resorted to smuggling milk into the United States. The sanctions were punishing and resulted in significant damage to many archaeological sites. The looting of artifacts from the Iraq Museum in Baghdad was among the most egregious examples of unregulated looting during this period. In addition to looting, Saddam Hussein also made a lunatic decision to occupy Kuwait and faced stiff opposition from an international coalition led by the United States.