Black Watch doctors distribute medicines hoarded by regime

The Scotsman ^ | April 2, 2003 | GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN

[MadIvan]

THOUSANDS of boxes of children’s medicines seized by British troops on a raid on a militia headquarters in the town of Az Zubayr, near Basra, are being given out to parents by army doctors in the town in an attempt to win over the local population.

British troops found enough medicines, including antibiotics and treatments for pneumonia and tapeworm, for 10,000 children when they searched a health centre last week which had been taken over by the Baath Party and militia in the town.

Now they have decided to try to get the medicine, which had been left in a storeroom, into circulation by setting up their own clinic in a temporary military compound in the town. Three army doctors have been made available to see children who are being brought to the compound by their parents, and British military officials hope that the move will convince the local population that they are there to help.

One of the first cases brought into the hospital involved two women and two young children whose car had hit a land mine.

Both women had serious leg and foot injuries and a piece of shrapnel had severed a muscle in an arm. The youngest child, an 18-month old baby, suffered minor facial injuries and the other child, a boy aged about nine, had shrapnel wounds to his legs and arms. Yesterday, Lance Corporal Fred Simpson, one of the army medics who treated them said: "The shrapnel had come through the floor of the car and the ladies both had foot injuries from the shrapnel. They were both very shaken up and one of them was in severe pain. The young lad was more shocked and dazed than worried by the injuries."

He said the mine, believed to have been laid by the Iraqi army, was a "jumping jack" which is catapulted up to waist height before exploding to cause maximum injury rather than to kill.

British doctors have also a treated a number of injured Iraqi soldiers.

But attempts to recruit Iraqi doctors and translators have hit problems because people say they are scared of reprisals from the Iraqi regime.

Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Beaton, senior medical officer with the Black Watch battle group, said he was concerned that those who were helping the British could face death.

"There are absolutely petrified of helping," he said. "The militia are definitely still out there, they have got a grip on the psyche, almost in a Northern Ireland type of way."

He said he was concerned for the safety of one young man who had volunteered to act as a translator in the British health clinic.

"I just hope he doesn't get topped for talking to us," he said.

[MadIvan]

Isn't that sweet of the Ba'athists, hoarding medicines from their own people. Destroying this regime is a genuine pleasure, well worth my tax money.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[APBaer]

"Black Watch doctors distribute medicines hoarded by regime"

LOL
I misread it as Black Witch doctors distribute medicines hoarded by regime

[sonofatpatcher2]

Oh, Black Watch Doctor. I thought it was Black 'Witch' Doctor- thinking Jesse Jackson has brought his own MD to heal all the ills of this war.

[najida]

How totally, unforgivably....monstrously CRUEL! To withhold medication from his people, allowing them to suffer is the work of a saddist.

OK, why do I feel I am stating the obvious?

[Paleo Conservative]

Isn't that sweet of the Ba'athists, hoarding medicines from their own people.

This never happened. Al Jazeera did not cover it. It is just a bunch of infidel lies spread by Jews. Iraq does not have Weapons of mass destruction. Iraq is justified in using any weapons it has against Americans including chemical biological and nuclear weapons. This war is distracting attention from the War on Terrorism. The US should be tracking down Osama bin Lauden. The War on Terrorism will be a failure if Osama is not captured. There is no proof that Iraq is working with Al Qaeda. The World Trade Towers were destroyed by Jews to get the Great Satan (the United States) to fight a Crusader war against Muslim countries. "Those of us who come from various European lineages are not blameless. Indeed, in the first Crusade, when the Christian soldiers took Jerusalem, they first burned a synagogue with 300 Jews in it, and proceeded to kill every woman and child who was Muslim on the Temple mound."

I think I covered the major points emphasized by the leftist and Muslim press. Please feel free to post some more. I am pretty confident the Arab newspapers and TV networks will never cover this war accurately. It will come as a great shock to the Muslims when Saddam's regime is defeated after all the Al Jazeera coverage stating that Iraq is winning this war.

[nomad]

I just hope they check the safety seals on that stuff, given the animals who hoarded it, product tampering would not be out of the question.

[SuziQ]

He said he was concerned for the safety of one young man who had volunteered to act as a translator in the British health clinic.
"I just hope he doesn't get topped for talking to us," he said.

Maybe they need to move that young man and his family into the British Headquarters in the area for their protection, or at least give him and his family a bodyguard!

[GretchenEE]

Thank you for your many labors to gather and post the news.

And this is wonderful news.