The Day the Silent Bombs Fell essays

The Day the Silent Bombs Fell essays On September 11,2001, the United States faced, what we saw as the most horrific form of terrorism. On March 16,1988, the northern Iraqi city of Halabja endured the greatest chemical and biological assault on a civilian population in the history of mankind. Today this is our worst fear, being bombed by chemical weapons. What should have been a day of celebration was a day not to be forgotten according to Sabir Abdullah Ahmad. The air smelt like apples and onions. It was a bad smell. I saw people who smelt it and they were affected immediately. In front of me six people, three of them my brothers, tried not to breathe, they tried to hide in some water, but the water was poisoned by the chemicals too and they died. Those who were very close to the bombs died instantly, those who did not found it very difficult to breathe and began to vomit. The gas stung their eyes, some suffering temporary blindness. Many villagers ran towards water, jumping into streams to escape the spreading gases. Iraqi military had been attacking the city for three days until they were forced to retreat, on the fourth day Iraqi planes began bombing the city and surrounding areas. Not long after the bombings stopped, there were helicopters flying overhead taking pictures and dropping paper. About 6pm that night the bombings started again, but this time there were no sounds of explosions. They were attacking the city with a deadly cocktail of chemicals, including mustard gas and various other nerve agents that can cause death as well as medical and genetic problems. About 60,000 Kurds fled Iraq to Turkey, claiming poison gas attacks. Iraq has also denied charges it has used poison gases in this massacre against the Kurdish, who are a minority of people living in Northern Iran, Iraq and Turkey constantly fighting for a separate homeland in Northern Iraq. Over the past 12 years some 45,000 people have been faced with cancer, respiratory ...