Long after the shooting and bombing stops, Iraqis will still be dying from the war.
Destroyed factories have become untended hazardous waste sites, leaking poison into the water and the soil. Forests in the north and palm groves in the south have been obliterated to remove the enemy's hiding places.
Rivers are salted, water is contaminated with sewage, and land is strewn with mines, unexploded bombs, chemical waste, rubble and trash.
"When we talk about it, people may think we are overreacting. But in fact the environmental catastrophe that we inherited in Iraq is even worse than it sounds," Iraqi Environment Minister Nermeen Othman said in an interview.
"War destroys countries' environments, not just their people. War and its effects have led to changes in the social, economic and environmental fabric," she said. "It will take centuries to restore the natural environment of Iraq."
The ecological destruction has ...