Against the Fires of Hell: The Environmental Disaster of the Gulf War

by T.M. Hawley

The Gulf War was a minor war as wars go, but its aftereffects have pointed out, as perhaps nothing else has, just how fragile the planet Earth is against the assaults of modern warfare and just how irreversible the damage can be. The capping of the burning oil wells in Kuwait was the greatest firefighting effort in history, and the speed with which it was accomplished led many to believe that the war damage in the Middle East had been contained. Actually, the capping was only a tiny part of the gigantic ecological problems that came in the wake of the war. Oil that spilled during the war continues to contaminate the Gulf, and efforts to recover it are limited and piecemeal. Only a small portion of the landside cleanup has been completed, and the global effects of the smoke and soot from the fires have proved to be at least as serious and as far-reaching as many prewar predictions had foretold. Some species of animals and plants found only in the Gulf region have been devastated, and the effect of the war on Kuwait's and Iraq's environment, as well as on the Gulf itself, will be as lasting as the terrible assaults on public health in Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. Carefully documented, and relying also on firsthand information, this book presents a powerful case against war as an option in the modern age.

Genres: Middle East, Environment

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992