Send Coloured Tape to U.S. Congress

"We don't have any orange tape left," said Captain Payne to CPT Iraq Team member Lisa Martens. Martens had requested that a large quantity of unexploded munitions in one particular residential area of Baghdad be marked off with tape until it could be cleaned up by Unexploded Ordnance Engineers. This was not the first time U.S. Army personnel had told CPT members that they did not have enough bright-coloured tape to mark the site, or enough engineers to clean it up, or enough personnel to keep children out of the potentially lethal area.

Yet Iraq's Oil Ministry is heavily guarded by the U.S. Army. At the same time, sites in residential areas with dangerous unexploded munitions are left unguarded. CPT has been told more than once by military spokespeople, "We lack the resources." On one recent day, a driver took CPT to ten different sites in one corner of Baghdad which contained unexploded U.S. munitions or abandoned stocks of Iraqi munitions, including 20-foot missiles, mortar rounds, land mines, and rocket-propelled grenades.

Christian Peacemaker Teams members have been monitoring the particular site described earlier for more than a week, and have reported it to U.S. Army personnel on several occasions, often using maps and digital photos to pin-point the location (see report below). Twice, CPT has led or directed military personnel to the site. They then saw for themselves the hundreds of unexploded munitions spread out within metres of streets, sidewalks and houses. They also saw children walking in and around the area. U.S. Army Capt. Payne and Sgt. Ayers told CPT on different occasions that these munitions are unstable and especially dangerous because they are partially burnt and crushed.

When Christian Peacemaker Teams members asked U.S. Staff Sgt. Pinkston to have the U.S. Army clean up the site right away, he replied that it is just one of many similar sites in Baghdad and that Ordnance Personnel are striving to clean-up "as fast as they can." Another soldier told the team that the Ordnance Engineers are two weeks behind schedule.

NBC News reporter Dr. Bob Arnot visited this site and included what he saw in a story in which he reported that Baghdad children are being maimed and killed by unexploded munitions. CPT met with Iraqi Red Crescent Society officials about a four-year-old boy in the neighbourhood who lost his sight when he picked up a cluster bomblet. They also met with the International Committee of the Red Cross who said that they have reminded the U.S. of its obligations as an Occupying Power under the Geneva Conventions to remove unexploded ordnance. This could take two to five years.

CPT INVITES YOU to send pieces or even rolls of the bright-coloured tape, which authorities ordinarily use to mark off dangerous sites, to your congresspersons, or the U.S, Ambassador to your country. Send it with a letter and /or phone calls urging them to make protecting civilians a higher priority than protecting the Oil Ministry. See sample letter below.

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The address of your Congressperson or Senator is Name plus address below:

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510

You will find the address US Embassy and name of the US Ambassador at http://usembassy.state.gov

Dear Congressperson,

Peace to you. Our CPT Media Team in Baghdad reports significant and immediate danger from hundreds of sites containing unexploded munitions. Many of these sites are in residential areas. As a result, children and other civilians are being maimed and killed when the munitions are accidentally set off. Your influence is needed immediately to put an end to this.

On several occasions, U.S. military personnel have told our team that US Forces do not have enough bright-coloured tape to mark off dangerous sites, or enough personnel to guard each one, or enough demolition specialists to clean them up quickly. At the same time, however, there are plenty of soldiers assigned to guarding the Ministry of Oil in Baghdad. I urge you to use your influence to ensure that international or locally developed demolition teams are deployed to Baghdad and other areas in need, along with plenty of bright-coloured tape. This will assure Iraqis that the U.S. values their lives and the lives of their children more highly than Iraq's oil..

Yours truly
[Your name]

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Report on One Unexploded Ordnance Site in Baghdad
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Iraq

April 22, 2003
Christian Peacemaker Team members Scott Kerr, Lisa Martens and Voices in the Wilderness member Cynthia Banas were driving near the intersection of 14 Ramadhan Street and the Bridge to the Ramady Expressway in Baghdad. They saw unexploded munitions around blown-up Iraqi military vehicles on the median between the streets and under the overpass. They documented the scene with digital photography and video.

The ordnance appeared to include mortar shells, small rockets, and land-mines. From an initial inspection, many appeared to be partly burned but probably still active.

The same day, Kerr notified Captain Robbins of the U.S. Army near the Palestine Hotel. Kerr gave the approximate location and Robbins indicated he would pass the message up his chain of command. He also said that Kerr could find a military detachment closer to the site and should give that detachment the same information.

April 23
Kerr and Martens stopped at the Iraqi National Museum, about a 10 minute drive from the underpass, and talked with Lieutenant Colonel Joe Rice from the 308th Civilian Affairs Brigade about the same site. He assured CPT that the Unexploded Ordnance Units (UXO) are actively clearing such sites.

Rice advised the CPT members to do the following: Give the information to him and several other military officials to assure that the problem would be addressed, asking that the military 1) mark the place with tape or other markings. 2) tell the local civilians about the dangers of such a site.

Rice also reported that two U.S. Marines had been killed the previous day while cleaning up another site of unexploded ordnance.

Kerr and Martens visited the site again and documented it precisely with digital photos and a map.

On the way home from the site, which is in the Al Monsour district of Baghdad, Kerr and Martens met with U.S. Army Sargent Ayers. The team presented the map and photos. Ayers assured the team members that he and his team had been to that site and removed unexploded ordnance that was stable enough to transport. When asked about the status of the ordnance left behind, Ayers said that it was very unstable and could explode at any time.

Kerr and Martens expressed their concern about this and asked when this site will be cleaned up completely. Ayers suggested that CPT visit the Saddam Palace in two days (April 25) if the site is not cleaned up by then, and ask to speak with Lieutenant Moore

April 25
Kerr, Martens, Jerry Levin and Stewart Vriesinga returned to the site and found that no progress had been made in cleaning the site, and that there was no US military personnel present. Kerr, Levin, Martens and Vriesinga proceeded to the Republican Palace to meet with Lieutenant Moore.

Lieutenant Moore was not present at the Palace, and so CPT members shared their concerns with Staff Sargent Pinkston and Lieutenant. England. With the help of a local driver, they were able to pinpoint where the ordnance is on a military map. Staff Sargent Pinkston assured the group that the ordnance would be cleaned up "that afternoon."

Kerr and Martens returned to the site that afternoon with MS-NBC journalist Dr. Bob Arnette. The journalist reported from the site explaining to an audience back in the US about the dangers of unexploded ordnance, and reported that he had visited children in hospitals recently maimed by such munitions. Dr. Arnette obtained GPS coordinates. The North coordinates are 3319811, the East coordinates are 4419868.

April 26
Kerr and Martens again visited the site. Finding it in the same condition and still unmarked by tape or danger signs. They drove three kilometres to the nearest U.S. military checkpoint. On the way to the checkpoint, the team noted a rocket about 20 centimetres in diameter, stuck into the ground with more than half a metre of it sticking out of the ground.

Soon after, at the checkpoint, Lieutenant Hoskins and Staff Sargent Connell heard the team's concern. They sent two tanks to follow the team to the site of the rocket, and the dump site which was the team's first concern. At the dump site, Staff Sargent Connell got off the tank but would not go closer than 10 metres from the ordnance. He said it was not his job to clean up the site, but that he would "call it in." He said that the Unexploded Ordnance Units would have to take care of it. We requested that he at least tape it off and write "Danger" signs in Arabic. He said that he and his unit "did not have the resources" to do that. He said that the UXO units have a "priorities" list that is seven pages long, and that the single rocket the team had shown him first would take priority over the site of CPT's initial concern. Kerr asked why a rocket in a non-civilian area would get higher priority than hundreds of munitions in an area where children play. Sgt. Connell gave no clear answer.

April 28
Martens and Vriesinga again visited the site and found it in the same condition as the days before. They went to the Air Force building and spoke about the site with Captain Payne, 3rd Division, Charlie Battery, First Battalion, 9th Field Artillery. Immediately, he sent out personnel in tanks, humvees, and jeeps to look at the site. When Captain Payne saw the site he said the ordnance could be very dangerous and unstable, and that his unit could do nothing about it until a specialized team had examined it. He said the ordnance could be particularly unstable because it looked like it had been burned. Martens asked Captain Payne if he could at least tape the area off because children were walking through it. The Captain said that he "did not have any orange tape left," but that he would see if he could get his translator to write some danger signs for the site.

April 29
The team visited the munitions dump again. They noted that another box of weaponry had disappeared from the site. There were still no soldiers or signs or tape marking off the area. When Martens went to inform Capt. Payne, she was referred to Lt. Wheeler. Wheeler said, "We don't have enough resources. It is not really our job. Talk to the Red Cross or find a private contractor. But we have cleaned up 10 such sites. Iraq is now in the top 5 countries in the world with unexploded ordnance, right up there with Bosnia and Afghanistan. It will take 5 years to clean up all the sites here."

Vriensinga raised the issue of this site at the daily coordination meeting between the U.S. military and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) doing relief work. The Major hosting the meeting said he could do nothing until he received a written report of the problem.

April 30
CPT delivered the present report to the Major at the daily U.S, military / NGO meeting. He gave no response.

Lisa Martens met with the International Committeee of the Red Cross and gave them this report on the Mansour munitions dump. They said that they do surveys and public education on unexploded ordnance but they do not do any clearance work. They have reminded the U.S. of its responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions as the Occupying Power to secure, clear, and make safe such sites. The Red Cross will start its own public education work in Baghdad next week.. They agreed it will take two to five years to clear Baghdad.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 773-277-0253; Fax: 773-277-0291, E-Mail WEB www.prairienet.org/cpt