Böcker av G. Simons

Geoff Simons profiles the appalling human-rights record of modern Indonesia, against a history of the country from colonial times to the present.

This text presents a broad history of Iraq, from the earliest times to the emergence of modern Iraq in the 20th century, the power struggles that led to the rise of Saddam Hussein, the Iran-Iraq war, the 1990-91 Gulf war and the continuing depiction of Iraq as a "rogue" nation.

The book considers the ethical credentials of the United States in branding various countries 'pariah states', and describes the background to the Iraq Question (the role of Saddam, the genocidal sanctions regime, etc.).

The Scourging of Iraq describes the impact of the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent economic sanctions on the Iraqi people. Sanctions are considered in a historical, political and legal context, with particular attention to how the economic blockade may be seen as a criminal violation of UN resolutions and the UN Genocide Convention.

The historical survey includes the anti-colonialist campaign, the role of Sukarno as first president, the Suharto decades, the 1998 appointment of Habibie as third president and the social chaos caused by economic collapse.